Friday Bird Walk at Patterson Park

Only a few patches of snow remain in the park - welcome warmer weather!  Although the temperature at the start was only a bit above freezing, it was still a nice break from the last two months.  As I waited for the participants to arrive, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flew high into a nearby tree, Juncos bounced around the base of another tree along with some Cardinals.  There were lots of Robins - some fought with their neighbors while others concentrated on securing their breakfast.



Here's one sign of spring in the community garden - blooming Witch Hazel - although I believe only non-natives bloom in the late winter.  In the summer, a House Wren family usually lives in this nestbox.

The Boat Lake still had some ice on it.  Canada Geese, Mallards, the resident Muscovy Ducks, and Ring-billed Gulls were all present.  There was one unlucky duck carcass frozen off the island.

Here we are discussing those odd Muscovy X Mallard oddities.

Red-winged Blackbirds were in attendance.  Males separate from the females.



We found one!  A lovely American Woodcock resting in the grasses.  Thank you Pat for lugging along your scope so we could examine it.  Unfortunately digiscoping with my cell phone did not turn out very well.

 

Here is the final bird list:
22 species

Canada Goose  4
Mallard  20
American Woodcock  1
Ring-billed Gull  15
Mourning Dove  3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  4
Fish Crow  1
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  25
Northern Mockingbird  3
European Starling  4
Song Sparrow  5
Dark-eyed Junco  8
Northern Cardinal  2
Red-winged Blackbird  6
Common Grackle  25
House Finch  6
American Goldfinch  4
The next bird walk at Patterson Park is Saturday, March 28, let by Audubon staff.  Hope to see you there!


Great Backyard Bird Count at Patterson Park

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.  Last year, 144,109 checklists were submitted by 135 countries, 142,051 participants, and 4,296 species were observed!  You can still participate - find out more on the website:  http://gbbc.birdcount.org/  . 

We did our part on the Friday bird walk at Patterson Park.  Although the weather was in the single digits factoring in the wind chill, a few birds showed up.

Mallards were paired up and tucked in.

Canada Geese found some open water due to previous warmer days.

There were interesting ice blocks resting on the top of the thin ice.

A few male Red-winged Blackbirds had enough energy to shout out "conk-la-ree!"

Can you spot the Coot?

Bird list:

Mallard

Coot

Canada Geese

Ring-billed Gulls 

Red-tailed Hawk

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Dark-eyed Junco

Golden-crowned Kinglet

American Crow

Red-winged Blackbird

European Startling

 

The next walk at Patterson Park will be Saturday, February 28 at 8:00AM led by Audubon staff.  Binoculars are provided if you don't have any by emailing ppaudubon@gmail.com.

 

 

Loch Raven Reservoir

Led by Kye Jenkins

A much warmer day than last year, about 16 birders enjoyed viewing the waterfowl that visits Loch Raven Reservoir this time of year. 

There were lots of Common and a few Hooded Mergansers, Gadwall, and Ring-necked Ducks.
  A Great Blue Heron was also spotted.

Ring-billed Gulls were circling the dam, and were floating right near the edge.

Redheads, Buffleheads, American Wigeon, and Canada Geese.

 

Birding by the shooting range.  We spotted Bluebirds, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creeper, Bald Eagle, White throated Sparrows, American Crow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and Hermit Thrush.

The partially frozen water held Common Mergansers, Coots, and Buffleheads.

Full species list:

 

Cackling Goose

Canada Goose

Gadwall

American Wigeon

American Black Duck

Mallard

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Bufflehead

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Coot

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Mourning Dove

Belter Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Blue Jay

American Crow

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Carolina Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Song Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

 

 

Christmas Bird Count for Kids

January 10, 2015

The first CBC4Kids in Harford County, MD took place at Swan Harbor Farm in Havre de Grace on January 10th. A total of 31 species were seen - 407 birds. We had four teams (one 4-7 years, three 8-16 years), 16 kids participated, 12 adults, and 8 awesome volunteers. 

Thank you to our sponsors - Harford Bird Club, Chesapeake Audubon, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, and the Harford Glen Environmental Education Center.  And thanks to our trip leaders Tim Houghton, Dennis Kirkwood, Phil Powers and Ruth Bergstrom, and Mary Murray for help with the binoculars, Peggy Eppig for sharing the Agricultural Center with us,  Fred Brundick - photographer, and Jean Scocca for registration and homemade cookies! 

Down by the pier

It was about 17 degrees!

Leader Dr. Dennis Kirkwood

Leader Phil Powers

 

Friday Bird Walk at Patterson Park

(Jan. 9, 2015)  It was a chilly morning - that's for sure.  But the park was beautiful with a bit of snow on the ground.  A total of 14 species were spotted - enjoy the photos!

Canada Goose  18
Mallard  14
Red-tailed Hawk  1
American Coot  1
Ring-billed Gull  36
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
American Crow  5
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  8
Northern Mockingbird  1
European Starling  5
Dark-eyed Junco  6

Some juncos on the boardwalk

Squirrel nests are actually quite well constructed - although they don't look like it from below.  I examined one that fell and found it to be almost watertight, with a soft lining.

There were a few spots of open water for the waterfowl and gulls.

 

A Red-tailed Hawk keeping a eye on things.

Heading back by the Pagoda.  Luckily I was able to get in my car before they towed it away.  Almost victim to a temporary and hidden parking sign.

New Year's Day Hike 2015 at Soldier's Delight

We had a pleasant walk at Soldiers Delight.  Very nice
temperatures - I was never cold or hot - and sunny skies.  Not much in the
way of birds:  TV, crows, Car chickadees, and a nice look at a male
redbellied woodpecker.  No hawks.  Any sparrows were skulking - it was a
bit windy.  Talked about the history of SD, showed the 3
trees species of the grasslands, and smelled pennyroyal.

There were about 10 people and one dog.   Two miles walking, two hours
hiking time.

Bryan

Photos by Renee DKC

North Point State Park - Beginner Bird Walk

From Dec. 21, 2014

No pictures yet, but here is the bird list.  Thanks to all who explored the trails and jetty.  We were all impressed with the newly renovated area down by the shore. 

Canada Goose  300
Mallard  15
Bufflehead  9
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Ring-billed Gull  5
Herring Gull  1
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker  4
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  6
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Winter Wren  1
Carolina Wren  2
Hermit Thrush  3
American Robin  12
European Starling  18
Eastern Towhee  1
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  15
Dark-eyed Junco  5
Northern Cardinal  3
Red-winged Blackbird  12
Common Grackle  20
House Finch  3
American Goldfinch  12