Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
First, many, many thanks to everyone who came out to participate in the annual Spring Bird Count. Although it wasn’t as birdy as we had hoped, we ended up with a nice total of 62 species and a few highlights.
The surprise of the day was the presence of eight Ruddy Ducks in the east lagoon. It was one male in full breeding plumage, blue bill and all, and 7 others which seemed to be a mix of juvenile males and females. Gary’s wonderful photo of our visitors is attached.
A Sedge Wren was discovered at the north end of Bobolink Woods. It was a bit shy but popped up now and then for a look at the humans who were looking for it. Yellow warblers were singing everywhere and several flocks of Double-crested Cormorants flew over. A large flock of swallows, Barn, and Rough-winged, were flying over the soccer field nabbing all the bugs that the soccer players stirred up. Smart birds. Our resident Red-tailed Hawk was seen again – I think its name should be Columbia – and our Eastern Bluebirds were in their usual spot in the oak trees on the east side of the Columbia Basin. Gary’s great photo of a Bluebird is attached too. It was a lovely day and a successful bird count.
BIRDERS: Marian, Jane, Gary, Cheryl, Martha, Mark, Bruce Mc., Nigel, Grace, Renate, Eric, Bruce M., Barbara, Cathy, Karin, Ka Yee, Pam, Leslie, Marisa, Jennie. We were joined later by Liz and Randy.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:45am
WEATHER: Mostly sunny, high 40s, light winds
Compiler: Cheryl
American Coot 2
American Crow 15
American Goldfinch 24
American Robin 42
Baltimore Oriole 11
Barn Swallow 53
Belted Kingfisher 1
Black-crowned Night Heron 1
Blue Jay 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Brown Thrasher 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Canada Goose 42
Caspian Tern 3
Cedar Waxwing 2
Chimney Swift 57
Chipping Sparrow 6
Common Grackle 15
Common Yellowthroat 4
Double-crested Cormorant 180
Eastern Bluebird 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Empidonax sp. 1
European Starling 31
Gray Catbird 20
Great Blue Heron 2
Green Heron 3
Herring Gull 1
House Sparrow 3
House Wren 2
Indigo Bunting 2
Least Flycatcher 1
Mallard 17
Northern Cardinal 14
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 41
Northern Waterthrush 3
Palm Warbler 37
Purple Martin 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-winged Blackbird 61
Ring-billed Gull 7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Ruddy Duck 8
Sedge Wren 1
Song Sparrow 8
Sparrow sp. 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Warbling Vireo 21
White-Breasted Nuthatch 3
White-Crowned Sparrow 27
White-throated Sparrow 14
Wilson's Warbler 1
Winter Wren 1
Wood Duck 7
Yellow Warbler 37
If you’d like more information about a bird, visit allaboutbirds.org
Corrections, additions and comments are welcome
Recordings are not used to attract birds.
The Walks are free and open to one and all. They are held year-round. Newcomers are warmly welcomed.
Saturday morning walks: Start at 8:00 a.m. and cover a distance of two miles. Birders walk from the meeting spot counterclockwise onto Wooded Island. Exiting Wooded Island at the south end, the birders walk along the soccer field and enter the south end of Bobolink Meadow. The Meadow’s path leads to the Music Bridge. After crossing the Music Bridge birders walk through the parking lot and around the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon) and return to our meeting spot. In late fall, winter and early spring, the birders check for birds on the lakefront at the Outer Harbor near LaRabida Hospital and the Inner Harbor after the Wooded Island walk.
Meeting Spot: Birders meet on the west shore of the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon). Park on Stony Island Avenue near 59th Street, walk east across the parkland area, then cross Cornell Drive to reach the spot.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie