September 26, 2023
Birding Report by Jane Burges
We met at 8:00. Ken wanted to get
some coffee so Bill, Barbara and I went ahead, we very quickly checked
out Constance Creek - Blue-winged Teal, then we drove down Monty and our
big find Black-capped Chickadee. We met Eleanor and Ken and drove to
the marsh. The reports had indicated that the Nelson's Sparrow could be
seen without going into the water. Bill, Eleanor and Ken put on their
rubber boots, while Barbara and I opted to walk on solid ground. There
were so many Wrens - Marsh, House and Winter Wrens and they were
singing. Love their different songs. A Rusty Blackbird came in for
just a few minutes then flew off. Two Great Yellowlegs came by rather
noisily. Lots of sparrows as well. Swamp Sparrow, Song Sparrow,
White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and thank you Barbara,
Lincoln's Sparrow. After 2 hours of searching we decided we had dipped
yet again, making it three years in a row. Darn.
Well
let's go see if we can find the Red-headed Woodpeckers, we drove many
streets and we dipped on it as well. Once I got home I noticed an ebird
post by Bruce Di Lablio indicating that he had an immature Red-headed
Woodpecker at his cottage around the time we were there. So annoying.
Guess it just was not to be.
Where to go next?
Let's try Rivington Street in Carp, we might get some shorebirds.
While driving to Carp, we stopped to look at this big black bird, it was
a Common Raven. As Eleanor and Ken were getting into their vehicle
they saw Killdeer. Once we got to Rivington Street, signs indicated No
Trespassing, so much for shorebirds.
Bill
suggested Hidden Lake would be a nice place for lunch. He was right,
but it was a good place for birds as well. Bill called our
attention to the Bald Eagle flying overhead. We reminisced, the last
time we were there we had a Great White Fronted Goose. We walked up the
small hill and gazed out onto the lake, lots of Canada Geese. Barbara
had walked down to find the bench. I joined her. We walked to the
opening and found another Greater White Fronted Goose, so distinctive
with its pinkish bill and the white flank line. After taking photos we
decided lunch was in order. While eating, an Eastern Phoebe flew into a
dead tree right in front of us. After lunch we walked along the trail
at the base of the hill, we saw Dark-eyed Junco, Chipping Sparrow,
Red-breasted Nuthatch and a single Blue-headed Vireo. Bill, Eleanor and
Ken found a Black-throated Green Warbler and a Yellow-rumped Warbler in
the same area a bit later. I joined Ken as he sat hoping that the
Blue-headed Vireo would return, we heard the very loud call of a
Pileated Woodpecker. I went to investigate, couldn't find it, but the
Great Egret flew into a tree while I looked over the lake. Initially we
thought there were two, the two became three and the three became four.
We
discussed what we should do next -- Shirley's Bay and Andrew Haydon
Park, The only new species we found at Shirley's Bay were 5
Greater Scaups. Eleanor stayed 10 minutes to see if the Scaup would
stretch its wing. Just once one of the birds briefly stretched its wings
and in the briefest of moments Eleanor saw the white extending towards
the wing tip. She has a great deal more patience than me. We checked
out the DND grounds and found high in a tree a House Finch, thank you
Barbara for taking the photo and Bill identifying the bird.
No Screech Owls at the nest. Barbara and I decided to walk over to Andrew Haydon Park, while Bill drove.
We
saw some people taking photographs, all we could see on the pond were
Canada Geese. One of the ladies said there was a Belted Kingfisher
perched about 2/3 the way up a coniferous tree. Nice, Belted Kingfisher
was the bird that turned me on to birding so many years ago when Connie
and I decided to see if birding was for us. The rest is history. We
walked over the bridge and soon discovered there was no bridge on the
other side, on the way back, we saw a Great Blue Heron, just standing
there, paying no attention to the people. A bit further we saw a Downy
Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I am
sure Bill must have been wondering where the heck we were, well we are
birders, we finally joined him. Looking out onto the water, there were
lots of Mallards and a pair of Widgeon. The final bird of the day,
Red-necked Grebe, a really good bird to end the day.,
Birding
started out slow, but as the day progressed got better and better. The
same thing could be said about the weather, we all dressed in layers,
it was cool I think about 8 degrees, in the afternoon the layers were
taken off, a truly glorious fall day.
I love birding, news to all I am sure...
Species Noted
- Mourning Dove
- American Crow
- Canada Goose
- Ring-billed Gull
- European Starling
- Rock Pigeon
- Blue-winged Teal
- Blue Jay
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Swamp Sparrow
- Marsh Wren
- House Wren
- Winter Wren
- White-throated Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- American Goldfinch
- Rusty Blackbird
- Mallard
- Great Yellowlegs
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Gray Catbird
- Belted Kingfisher
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Killdeer
- Turkey Vulture
- Common Raven
- Kestrel
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Green-wing Teal
- Black Duck
- Great Egret
- Chipping Sparrow
- Blue-headed Vireo
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Northern Cardinal
- Bald Eagle
- Eastern Phoebe
- Greater Scaup
- Great Blue Heron
- Downy Woodpecker
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Pied-billed Grebe
- House Finch
