The Stroud Preserve, 10 December 2012

There was something about today’s walk at the preserve that reminded me of the Pacific Northwest, but I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it. The weather was overcast with just enough drizzle to make things damp and it wasn’t really all that cold, about 50. Perhaps, I’ll figure it out later.

Birds were actually quite numerous and active despite the pissy weather. There were many Song and White-throated Sparrows along the edges of the trails as well as a large flock of blackbirds and grackles. Aerial species like Black and Turkey Vultures, were mostly absent (only one of each!). The biggest surprise of the day was an out of season Osprey perched in a tree over the Brandywine as I left the preserve.

Stat time: 8:50
End time: 11:50
Temp: 46-50
Wind: none
Skies: overcast with light mist
Species Total: 38
 
Black Vulture – 1
Turkey Vulture – 1
Canada Goose – approximately 250
Mallard – 2
Osprey – 1, Bird of the Day!
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1, immature
Cooper's Hawk – 1 immature
Red-tailed Hawk – 1
Mourning Dove – approximately 200
Belted Kingfisher – 1, heard only
Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 2, heard only
Downy Woodpecker – approximately 10
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – approximately 15
American Crow – approximately 150
Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
Tufted Titmouse – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – 4
Carolina Wren – approximately 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
Eastern Bluebird – approximately 35
American Robin – approximately 20
Northern Mockingbird – 3
European Starling – approximately 10
Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
Field Sparrow – 1
Fox Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – approximately 350
Swamp Sparrow – 5
White-throated Sparrow – approximately 500
Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 100
Northern Cardinal – approximately 25
Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 150
Common Grackle – approximately 1000
House Finch – approximately 35
American Goldfinch – approximately 15

The Stroud Preserve, 6 December 2012

Burrr. Yesterday the starting temperature was 50, today it was 23 degrees cooler! The lower temperature also seemed to lower the bird activity as it was very quiet. It seemed like I had to work extra hard to find each species today. I didn’t think that I broke 30 species, however when I got home and tallied it all up, I ended up with one more than yesterday. Go figure. Still, while I might have had more species, there were definitely fewer individuals.

One surprise did pop out of the woodwork. Since bird activity was lower I spent more time spishing, and I would occasionally play a recording of an Eastern Screech-Owl to try and bring birds into view. While I was play the owl call in the north side of the preserve, a real Eastern Screech-Owl called back at me. This is in the same general area that I found one in October. The trees here are thick with vines and undergrowth, which is perfect habitat for a screech-owl (photo above is the location where I heard it). Plus, it is sure better than the one I came across a few days ago. That one was in two dimensions in the side of the road!

Stat time: 9:00
End time: 11:20
Temp: 27-34
Wind: slight from the east
Skies: clear
Species Total: 35
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approximately 40
Turkey Vulture – approximately 35
Canada Goose – approximately 100
Mallard – 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1
Red-tailed Hawk – 4 adults
Mourning Dove – approximately 30
Eastern Screech-Owl – 1, heard only, Bird of the Day!
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 2, heard only
Downy Woodpecker – approximately 6
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – approximately 15
American Crow – approximately 200
Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
Tufted Titmouse – approximately 5
White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
Brown Creeper – 1
Carolina Wren – approximately 10
Winter Wren – 1, heard only
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2, heard only
Eastern Bluebird – approximately 20
Northern Mockingbird – 4
European Starling – 5
Eastern Towhee – 2
Fox Sparrow – 1, heard only
Song Sparrow – approximately 75
Swamp Sparrow – 2, heard only
White-throated Sparrow – approximately 125
Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 15
Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
House Finch – approximately 10
American Goldfinch – approximately 30

The Stroud Preserve, 5 December 2012

Even though the temperature for today’s walk was about the same as the past couple of days, it seemed much cooler because there was a brisk wind. Burr. Things seemed a little slower as none of the big flocks of birds were around. I did however hear and see a couple of flyover Horned Larks! This was only my second observation for the preserve for larks.

Stat time: 8:50
End time: 11:20
Temp: 50-55
Wind: brisk wind out of the NNW
Skies: Mostly overcast
Species Total: 34
 
Great Blue Heron – 2
Black Vulture – approx. 20
Turkey Vulture – approx. 30
Canada Goose – approx. 75
Bald Eagle – 1 adult
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2, adult and immature. I don’t see many adults around.
Red-tailed Hawk – 4 adults
Mourning Dove – approx. 250
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1, heard only
Downy Woodpecker – approx. 5
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – approx. 15
American Crow – approx. 250
Horned Lark – 5, Bird of the Day!
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 10
Tufted Titmouse – 2
White-breasted Nuthatch – 4
Brown Creeper – 2
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Winter Wren – 1, by the way, this is probably the same individual recorded on previous visits as it has been in the same spot each day.
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 3
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 30
Northern Mockingbird – 3
European Starling – approx. 12
Song Sparrow – approx. 100
Swamp Sparrow – 2
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 200
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 40
Northern Cardinal – approx. 10
Red-winged Blackbird – 2
House Finch – approx. 30
American Goldfinch – approx. 20

The Stroud Preserve, 4 December 2012

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

The Stroud Preserve, 3 December 2012

I’ve been wondering for a while where in the heck all the Common Grackles that were around here in the spring and summer went. Well, today they came back along with a few of their friends. A massive flock of grackles, 6000 by my best estimation, flew around the preserve all morning. I never got close enough to the flock to check it out for Rusty Blackbirds or other fun things.

Without that flock of grackles the morning would have been pretty slow. It was also unusually warm, starting out at 50 and ending up at 61! I enjoyed it but it really shouldn’t be that warm this time of year. This evening, as I was putting out the trash at dusk, I saw a bat flying around the neighborhood. Hummm…

Stat time: 9:00
End time: 11:15
Temp: 50-61
Wind: None
Skies: clear
Species Total: 36
 
Black Vulture – approx. 15
Turkey Vulture – approx. 25
Canada Goose – approx. 400
Bald Eagle – 1 adult
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2, imm.
Red-tailed Hawk – 5 adults
Rock Dove – 2
Mourning Dove – approx. 200
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – approx. 10
Hairy Woodpecker – 2
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 300
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 20
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 10
Brown Creeper – 1
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet – approx.
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 20
American Robin – 2
Northern Mockingbird – 3
European Starling – approx. 15
Fox Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – approx. 15
Lincoln's Sparrow –
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 25
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 35
Northern Cardinal – approx. 10
Red-winged Blackbird – approx. 30
Common Grackle – approx. 6000! Bird(s) of the day!
House Finch – 4
American Goldfinch – approx. 20

The Stroud Preserve, 30 November 2012

Yesterday the skies were filled with so many vultures it was difficult to count them. To day, I didn’t see a vulture until I was almost done with my walk and was heading back to the car! Where did they all go? I checked the deer carcass on the way out and there were only 5 birds feeding on it where as yesterday there were over 30.

Actually, I am always quite surprised at the day to day variation in the number of species I see at the preserve. For example, in the month of November I saw 54 species on seven visits to the preserve. The species totals for each visit were 24, 32, 40, 24, 31, 33, and 37. October was even more pronounced. I recorded a total of 97 species on 19 visits to the preserve and my range of daily tallies was a low of 34 and a high of 54.

Today I flushed up a Wilson’s Snipe from the old farm pond. This was only my second observation of this species from the preserve, however, it is probably here more often but overlooked as I don’t scan the aquatic vegetation in the middle of the old pond bed very often. Here is the run down for the day.

Stat time: 8:45
End time: 12:00
Temp: 63-68
Wind: None
Skies: high clouds
Species Total: 37
 
Great Blue Heron – 3
Black Vulture – 10, where did they all go?
Turkey Vulture – approx. 20
Canada Goose – 800
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 3, immatures
Red-tailed Hawk – 6, 5 adults and one immature
Wilson's Snipe – 1, Bird of the Day! Only my second observation at the preserve
Rock Dove – 2
Mourning Dove – approx. 150
Belted Kingfisher – 2, heard only
Red-bellied Woodpecker – approx. 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1, heard only
Downy Woodpecker – approx. 15
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 2
Blue Jay – approx. 15
American Crow – approx. 300
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 30
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 30
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 20
Carolina Wren – approx. 15
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 25
American Robin – 5
European Starling – 5
Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
Chipping Sparrow – 11
Field Sparrow – 2
Song Sparrow – approx. 20
Swamp Sparrow – 3
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 50
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 40
Northern Cardinal – approx. 20
Red-winged Blackbird – approx. 10
House Finch – approx. 25
American Goldfinch – approx. 25

The Stroud Preserve, 29 November 2012

On my last visit to the preserve I thought about Winter Wrens as I started and sure enough I saw my first Winter Wrens for the preserve. Today, I thought about American Pipits and sure enough, I saw a flock of about 30 in the Bobolink fields! 145 for me, and 163 for the preserve. On my next visit I’m going to think about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.

To be honest, I think about American Pipits nearly every time I visit the preserve. I am really quite surprised that I haven’t seen one before now. I find this to be a little odd as more than half the preserve is prime pipit habitat of open or plowed fields. Actually, pipits are not the only open country bird that I miss. I’ve seen Horned Larks only once, Eastern Meadowlarks only 6 times as spring migrants, and Killdeer only four times (three times as a distant vocalization and once as a flyover. I would think all of these birds would be more common here.

It’s only been a little over one year since I’ve been back on the east coast and it could just be that my perception as to what birds should and should not be around has changed over the past twenty years or, perhaps my perception of their status from twenty years ago is correct but their status has changed. Either way, one of the rewards of picking a local place to bird and visiting it often is think about and figure out small mysteries such as this.

Of course, I’ll keep you posted as I figure things out. Here is the rest of the bird list for today. As you can see from the frost on the grass, it was a little chilly!

Stat time: 9:35
End time: 12:30
Temp: 32-39
Wind: slight from the west.
Skies: clear
Species Total: 33
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approx. 100! There is a dead deer carcass down by the Brandywine. About 30 were on the ground feeding on it.
Turkey Vulture – approx. 20
Canada Goose – approx. 400
Mallard – 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 immature
Red-tailed Hawk – 7 adults
Herring Gull – 2, only my third observation
Rock Dove – 4
Mourning Dove – approx. 100, mostly in two large flocks
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 2
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 500
Fish Crow – 2, heard only amongst the crowd
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 10
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 20
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 5
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1, heard only
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 15
Northern Mockingbird – 2
European Starling – approx. 30

American Pipit – approx. 30, Bird of the Day!

Song Sparrow – approx. 10
Swamp Sparrow – 2, heard only
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 20
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 10
Northern Cardinal – approx. 10
Red-winged Blackbird – 3
House Finch – approx. 30
American Goldfinch – approx. 10