Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek
Hello everyone,
Winter has definitely arrived! It was cloudy and dreary for the whole walk and snowing for part of it. We still had some great birds though!
We had 17 Hooded Mergansers on the east lagoon, floating along and looking gorgeous. A Belted Kingfisher was flying around, chattering all the way. Four Fox Sparrows and a lovely American Kestrel were spotted.
The “best” bird of the day was a Rusty Blackbird that was walking around on the shore next to the boardwalk near the driving range. Great looks were had by all.
BIRDERS: Eric, Lucy, Mark, Marian, Jennie, Mike, Jane, Cheryl, Leslie, Kristin, Gary, Rob, Peter, Nick, Megan, Marisa, Renate, Tracy.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:00am
WEATHER: 33 degrees, cloudy, occasional light snow.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Eric and Leslie
Canada Goose Number observed: 46
Wood Duck Number observed: 5
Mallard Number observed: 6
Hooded Merganser Number observed: 17
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 8
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 15
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 5
American Robin Number observed: 3
House Sparrow Number observed: 36
American Goldfinch Number observed: 7
American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 4
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 4
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 25
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 9
Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 2
Rusty Blackbird Number observed: 1
Common Grackle Number observed: 1
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 6
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