It may seem backwards to many, but I don’t seem to be able to get out to do much birding on the weekend. I was determined to change that today. I set the alarm for early, got up and looked out the window to see a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. Then just decided to crawl back into bed and let it melt off a little. I still made it down to the preserve, but not until 11:15 AM, which is when I’m usually finishing things up!
The day did warm nicely and despite my late start I saw 35 species, which is just above average for this time of year. The highlight of the day was a single Chipping Sparrow. For some reason, this is a species that I don’t see very often at the preserve. I would think the area would be prime habitat for it. In contrast, I did not see any American Tree Sparrows at all (down from 24 just two day before).
Stat time: 11:15
End time: 2:15
Temp: 34-46
Wind: lite breeze from the west
Skies: mostly clear
Species Total: 35
Great Blue Heron – 1, I saw this one snap up and swallow a small rodent in one gulp in the bed of the old farm pond.
Black Vulture – approximately 25
Turkey Vulture – approximately 40
Canada Goose – approximately 375
Mallard – 2, male and female
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1, adult
Cooper's Hawk – 1, immature
Red-tailed Hawk – 6, 5 adults, 1 immature
Rock Dove – 3
Mourning Dove – approximately 150
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Downy Woodpecker – 3
Hairy Woodpecker – 2
Blue Jay – approximately 10
American Crow – approximately 200
Fish Crow – 1, maybe as many as three. I heard a text book call on the west side of the preserve. I think I heard a couple of others in the large flock of crows down by the Brandywine, but could be sure exactly.
Carolina Chickadee – approximately 15
Tufted Titmouse – approximately 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – 5
Carolina Wren – approximately 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4
Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
American Robin – 6
Northern Mockingbird – 2
European Starling – 7
Eastern Towhee – 2, heard only
Chipping Sparrow – 1, Bird of the Day!
Fox Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – approximately 25, numbers seemed very low compared to previous days.
Swamp Sparrow – 2
White-throated Sparrow – approximately 35
Dark-eyed Junco – approximately15
Northern Cardinal – approximately15
House Finch – approximately 10
American Goldfinch – approximately 10
Russell Rogers Posted on
Reader Comments (1)
Are you entering your bird sightings on eBird? If not, it would be great to see them entered into the Stroud Preserve eBird hotspot.