Hello everyone,
The birds are coming back! We had 23 species, the highest number we’ve had in a while. All the water in the lagoons was open so we were happy to see plenty of waterfowl. The Red-breasted Merganser males were displaying for the females – always a fun thing to see. Great Blue Herons, Common Grackles and Song Sparrows have returned, a sure harbinger of spring. Randy saw two herons and we only saw one but we were very happy to see it. And the Red-winged Blackbird numbers are increasing.
We were surprised to see a Mourning Dove, which is an infrequent visitor to the Island. We spotted two Kildeer on the soccer field, looking for insects in the wet ground.
BIRDERS: Jane, Marian, Mike, Cheryl, Luther, Val, Mark M., Eric, Paul, Caterina, Kristin, Lucy, Mark N., Sandra, Daniela, Mark W., Leslie, Margalit, Tracy, Marisa, Jennie and welcome to Huan, Parag, Quentin, and Thomas.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:30am
WEATHER: Sunny, low 30s, light winds
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Leslie, Eric, Paul
Canada Goose Number observed: 11
Mallard Number observed: 13
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 2
Common Merganser Number observed: 1
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 30
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Killdeer Number observed: 2
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 4
American Herring Gull Number observed: 8
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 1
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 11
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 12
European Starling Number observed: 4
American Robin Number observed: 3
House Sparrow Number observed: 3
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 3
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 21
Common Grackle Number observed: 1
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.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie
Photo: White-crowned-Sparrow by Geri Kodey