Today, I had to go out and photograph a client's facility for a new website that I'm working on, and I was inspired to do a little hiking on my way home. It was very chilly, but I had my jacket, had my camera with me, of course, and thankfully, I had my hiking boots in the trunk of the car! I was all set - but I couldn't decide where to go on such an impromptu adventure.
Finally, I hit upon an area close to home, Birdsong. I've hike there a couple of times before (
Lots of Activity at Birdsong, November 11, 2011,
Beautiful Day at Birdsong, March 14, 2012) but not nearly as often as I should! The place was teeming with birds. I hadn't walked more than 20 yards from the parking area when I saw my
FOS White-crowned Sparrows! That was great!
Next, I saw a considerable flock of Cedar Waxwings with many juveniles mixed in, enjoying some berries on scattered bushes. I took many photos of them, and a few would've been great, but I just couldn't position myself better to the sun so most were back-lit.
Some other nice sightings were: extended views of a few Swamp Sparrows, 3 fly-overs by 4 Wood Ducks, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Great Blue Heron, 2 Belted Kingfishers jetting about, and as common as Red-winged Blackbirds are, I still really like the chirps and calls they make. I'm not sure why, but it's a very peaceful, soothing, nature kind of sound to me. I wonder if I'm a little odd with that?
On my way back to the car, I saw 4 Killdeer hopping around near some puddles. I was very surprised at all the noise they made. They had a lot of interactions between them - yelling at one another with their wings fluttering, walking closely together in row, and chirping all the while - interesting little birds!
Did you know Killdeer pretend to be injured if a predator comes close to its nest? It drags itself around like it has a broken leg and wings, leading the predator away from its nest. Pretty cool!
I didn't even see one Black-capped Chickadee, nor any Northern Cardinals - very unusual. And I didn't see the beavers that a couple of other hikers told me about. I hope to get back there soon to see if I can't find them.
My full list for the day was:
- American Robin (2)
- American Crow (3)
- Belted Kingfisher (2)
- Blue Jay (1)
- Canada Goose (40+)
- Cedar-Waxwing (12)
- Common Grackle (14)
- Downy Woodpecker (2)
- Great Blue Heron (1)
- House sparrow (3)
- Killdeer (4)
- Purple Finch (3)
- Song Sparrow (1)
- Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
- Red-tailed Hawk (1)
- Red-winged Blackbird (50+)
- White-Crowned Sparrow (4)
- Swamp Sparrow (3)
- White-breasted Nuthatch (2)
- Winter Wren (2)
- Wood Duck (4)