Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
Spring migration is ramping up, although the Red-breasted mergansers are still hanging around. We had a nice group of Northern Shovelers and more Black-crowned Night Herons than the week before. A flying flock of flickers was fun to watch and two Brown Thrashers were playing hide and seek with us in the middle of the island. Our only warbler was a Yellow-rumped but he/she looked very pretty with its bright yellow accents. Other birders reported seeing about six Purple Martins but they weren’t home when we arrived at the houses, unfortunately.
The most exciting bird of the day was a flyover Bald Eagle! It was an immature bird, probably 3rd year, but it was right over our heads so we had great looks.
BIRDERS: Kaumudi, Cheryl, Leslie, Jane, Julia, Pam, Glyn, Karin, Tracy, Marisa, Bruce, Monica, Mike, Jennie and welcome to Mark, Jeff, Ken, Emily and Ari.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:45am
WEATHER: Sunny, around 40 degrees, light winds
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 11
Wood Duck Number observed: 7
Blue-winged Teal Number observed: 5
Northern Shoveler Number observed: 9
Mallard Number observed: 7
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 7
Pied-billed Grebe Number observed: 5
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
Caspian Tern Number observed: 2
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 7
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 7
Turkey Vulture Number observed: 1
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Bald Eagle Number observed: 1 Details: Immature, probably a 3 yr
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Northern Flicker Number observed: 10
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 1
Tree Swallow Number observed: 1
Barn Swallow Number observed: 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2
Brown Creeper Number observed: 4
European Starling Number observed: 3
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 2
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 5
American Robin Number observed: 15
House Finch Number observed: 2
American Goldfinch Number observed: 8
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 2
White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 1
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 9
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 1
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 9
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 5
Common Grackle Number observed: 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 7
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
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