Hello everyone,

Although it didn’t feel like spring first thing in the morning, signs of spring were all around us. The scilla is starting to bloom and a robin was checking out several crooks in a tree, obviously looking for a good nesting spot. We had our first turtle sighting of the season, with one lone turtle sitting on a log waiting for the sun to come out. A muskrat seemed to be very busy, swimming along the shore like it was looking for something…a good place to build a new den, perhaps?

Our gorgeous Wood Ducks made an appearance. We witnessed a dramatic chase scene with a few pesky crows chasing a Red-tailed Hawk. Northern Shovelers were paddling about in the east lagoon. A belted Kingfisher caught what appeared to be a crayfish and was whacking it on a branch to break it open. It then flew off with the creature in its bill and I hope it was able to figure out a way to enjoy its tasty meal. The high number of Golden-crowned Kinglets were fun to watch.

We had some very special visitors on this walk. Two Greater Scaup were in the Columbia Basin. They are very common winter ducks but they are a rarely found in our Jackson Park lagoons. We also had a surprisingly large number of Horned Grebes, all in different states of working their way into breeding plumage. It’s common for us to see one in the park occasionally but to see 4 in one day is unusual. They seemed very content and were diving constantly.

BIRDERS: Luther, Sofia, Leslie, Cheryl, Daniela, Val, Chelsea, Eric G., Mark W., Mark N., Mike, Nick, Amir, Margalit, Nolan, Jane, Jennie, Sarah B., Mark C., Madhu, Hillary, Roger, Katie, Traci, Grace, Jeremy, Ray and welcome to Jennifer, Ethan, Jett, Nia, Andrew, Jess, PJ and Teresa.

TIME: 8:00am to 11:50am

WEATHER: 42 degrees, cloudy

Compiler: Cheryl

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 74

2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 6

3. Blue-winged Teal   Number observed: 1

4. Northern Shoveler   Number observed: 4

5. Mallard   Number observed: 30

6. Greater Scaup   Number observed: 2

7. Common Goldeneye   Number observed: 2

8. Red-breasted Merganser   Number observed: 45

9. Mourning Dove   Number observed: 2

10. Killdeer   Number observed: 3

11. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 7

12. American Herring Gull   Number observed: 6

13. Pied-billed Grebe   Number observed: 2

14. Horned Grebe   Number observed: 4

15. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 3

16. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

17. Red-tailed Hawk   Number observed: 1

18. Belted Kingfisher   Number observed: 1

19. Red-bellied Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

20. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 4

21. Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

22. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 5

23. Merlin   Number observed: 1

24. American Crow   Number observed: 18

25. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 5

26. Golden-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 8

27. Brown Creeper   Number observed: 1

28. European Starling   Number observed: 19

29. American Robin   Number observed: 36

30. House Sparrow   Number observed: 3

31. House Finch   Number observed: 3

32. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 2

33. Fox Sparrow   Number observed: 3

34. Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 2

35. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 4

36. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 17

37. Eastern Towhee   Number observed: 1

38. Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 29

39. Brown-headed Cowbird   Number observed: 7

40. Common Grackle   Number observed: 18

41. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 12

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: American goldfinch by Will Stuart