The Stroud Preserve, 4 December 2012 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 3:06PM
Russell Rogers in Birds, Stroud Preserve, birds

Yesterday I commented about the size of the Common Grackle flock and how I couldn’t get close enough to it to look over each and every bird for the stray Rusty Blackbird. Well, today I didn’t see a single grackle, but I did see a single adult male Rusty Blackbird! Number 146 for me and number 164 for the preserve! What a beautiful bird! I could stand to see them more often.

Again it was unseasonably warm. Starting out at 52 and ending around 60! Despite the warm spring like weather I still see very few people at the preserve, which is fine by me. I like having the place to myself.

 

Stat time: 9:00
End time: 11:20
Temp: 52-60
Wind: none
Skies: clear
Species Total: 34
 
Great Blue Heron – 2
Black Vulture – approx. 25
Turkey Vulture – approx. 25
Canada Goose – approx. 1000, this flock seems to grow about a hundred or so birds every time I see it. That is the flock taking off in the photo above. 
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 imm
Red-tailed Hawk – 4 adults
Mourning Dove – approx. 250. The flocks of doves is also growing. I also note that I seem them perched in the same trees day after day.
Eastern Screech-Owl – 1, road killed on Creek Road. I have a photo but it is pretty gross.
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 2, heard only. I seem to hear these more often than see them.
Downy Woodpecker – approx. 10
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 300
Fish Crow – 1, heard and seen flying over head.
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 15
Black-capped Chickadee – 2. These were with a small group of Carolina Chickadee’s and I had a nice side-by-side comparison. They were also utilizing fresh sapsucker holes in a maple tree.
Tufted Titmous – approx. 20
White-breasted Nuthatch – 1
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Winter Wren – 1, only my second observation for the preserve.
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 25
American Robin – 2
Northern Mockingbird – 2
European Starling – approx. 10
Song Sparrow – approx. 50
Swamp Sparrow – 3
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 100
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 15
Northern Cardinal – approx. 8
Red-winged Blackbird – 3
Rusty Blackbird – 1, Bird of the Day!
House Finch – 4
American Goldfinch – approx. 30

Article originally appeared on Family Website (http://flyingabalone.squarespace.com/).