Greetings to all,
The walk this week really reflected the Fall season. While the weather was good enough, the birds were diminishing and the walks are getting shorter. It is getting to be that time of year when we wonder if we will actually have as many species as birders. The numbers are inching closer indicating that cold weather is upon us soon.
The only raptor we had this week was a fleeting glimpse of a Kestrel but we were rewarded with an abundance of woodpeckers and flickers. We had a good number of Red-bellied woodpeckers which we do not report that often. Our Bluebird group still graced us with their presence but moved to Bobolink meadow this week. The photographers were able to get some wonderful pictures of them. The most unusual sighting came at the end of the walk as a few birders were crossing over to Stony Island. A murder of crows took to the air over the median and proceeded to land in several trees as a group. They were quiet and obviously not chasing anything so we wondered what they were up to.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Marian, Leslie, Luther, Mark W., Caterina, Val, Kristin, Mark C., Robert, Simone, Lucy, Eric, David, Jesse, Marisa, Pam and welcome to Margalit, new to Hyde Park and Tom, visiting from New Hampshire.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:34am
WEATHER: Overcast clouds, 50-52 F°, light S-SE breeze
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Leslie and Eric
Canada Goose Number observed: 183
Mallard Number observed: 8
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 7
American Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 4
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 5
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 4
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 43
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 3
European Starling Number observed: 81
Eastern Bluebird Number observed: 4
American Robin Number observed: 27
House Sparrow Number observed: 1
House Finch Number observed: 3
American Goldfinch Number observed: 4
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 7
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 4
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.
Good birding to all,
Cheryl and Jennie
Photo: White-crowned-Sparrow by Geri Kodey