Bill Sefton, the trip leader, reports: So, it was a little on the chilly side and with the Thanksgiving Holiday approaching, we only had 12 birders show for this 3rd Saturday of the month walk. Those that did come out were rewarded with 40 species on the day with some really good looks at Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Hermit Thrushes, Bald Eagles, and Eastern Bluebirds. We also had several Winter Wren sightings – but those little rascals weren’t kind enough to sit still and pose for very long. It was also a good day for woodpeckers with 6 of 7 usual ones found (missed the Red-headed). I’m going to give the “Bird of the Day” honors to a swan that we couldn’t really ID. I wrote it down as Tundra Swan on the list since that seemed the most likely but it could just as well have been Mute or Trumpeter. Whichever, it was a spectacular sight as it flew over our group and disappeared into the morning sun. The complete list of 39 species follows: Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Tukey Vulture, Canada Goose, Tundra Swan, Mallard, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin. European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow. Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and American Goldfinch. Bill also reported the 18 birds seen only in October, but not in November as follows
Wilson’s Snipe, Chimney Swift, Eastern Phoebe, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Brown Creeper, Gray Catbird, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Field Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch,
Ken Cohen gives the flock of American Goldfinch drinking at one of the pools as the best sighting, and the elusive Winter Wrens as the most exasperating sightings. Here are some photos from the trip:
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