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Author: Peter Kasper
Tuesday, March 31
It was windy with light snow today and this clearly produced
some discomfit for the birds that have recently migrated
into the area. The roads were littered with flocks of
American Robins seeking either food or warmth. We even came
across
Eastern Phoebes either on or beside the roads. There were fewer waterfowl around than I had hoped for, but there
were both
Green-winged and
Blue-winged Teal on Nepese Pond and a
Greater Scaup on Main Ring Lake. A
Bonaparte's Gull was seen on the reflecting ponds (in front of the High Rise)
amongst a flock of
Herring and
Ring-billed Gulls. The best
find for the day however, was a huge flock of blackbirds
comprised of mainly
Red-winged Blackbirds but also
containing large numbers of
Rusty and
Brewer's Blackbirds and a few
Common Grackles and
Brown-headed Cowbirds. I don't
recall ever seeing so many
Rusty or
Brewer's Blackbirds on site.
Friday, March 27
During several walkabouts around the Lab today, looking
for the elusive owl nest, some lab year birds were seen.
In the Big Woods the first
Winter Wrens were seen along
with
Eastern Phoebes,
Golden-crowned Kinglets,
Eastern Bluebirds and a lone
Great Horned Owl. Other birds of
interest seen in various locations of the lab were
Rusty Blackbirds, a
Swamp Sparrow, and a flock of
Fox Sparrows.
On the srtange side, I spotted two
Red-tailed Hawks circling over the lab, then upon closer inspection noticed
one was a
Turkey Vulture. Dave Sunday, March 22
We appear to be between waves in the spring migration.
Waterfowl are tailing off and the later migrants such as
sparrows and warblers are only just starting to come
through. So, while we did find a few new arrivals such as
Tree Swalllows, a
Great Egret,
Wood Ducks, and the first
flocks of
Fox Sparrows, there was little else to see.
Waterfowl were down in both numbers and variety; apart from
Mallards and
Canada Geese all we found were a few
Common Mergansers, a couple of
Common Goldeneyes,
Buffleheads,
Northern Shovelers, and
American Black Ducks. The day was
not without its moments, however. My personal favorite was
witnessing
Wilson's Snipes displaying inside the main ring,
and I was also pleased to see that sightings in several
locations on site,
American Crows seem to be making a comeback.
Wednesday, March 18
A
Tundra Swan was found on a pond along north Eola rd today.
This is the first one we've had on site in several years.
Sunday, March 15
This morning's birding got off to a good start with a
Northern Shrike by Lake Law. It got even better when we
relocated the
White-winged Crossbills along west Wilson st.
and we were also pleased to find a
Great Horned Owl nest
along east Wilson st.
American Crows, a
Northern Harrier,
and a
Belted Kingfisher added icing to our cake. However, we
were disappointed at the paucity of waterfowl compared to
the past few days. We did manage to find a few
American Wigeon and
Northern Pintails and about 20
Greater White-fronted Geese, but the
Snow Geese and
Ross's Geese that were reported on site yesterday were nowhere to be seen.
Friday, March 13
A quick check of the lakes this morning produced a nice mix
of diving ducks including
Canvasbacks, Readheads, and a male
Greater Scaup on the main ring lake.
Sunday, March 8
While I was enjoying the sun on vacation in Mexico, my
fellow monitors braved the rain to see what could be found
on site. They reported many new arrivals, including
Killdeers,
Double-crested Cormorants,
Eastern Meadowlarks,
and
Common Grackles. However their best find was an immature
Bald Eagle in the center of the Main Ring.
Sunday, March 1
Due to bitter cold winds, we concentrated our birding on
waterfowl and feeders where we could search from the shelter
of my car. Given the time of year the, the lakes were
relatively unproductive though we did manage to find some
Northern Pintails and
Gadwalls on Andy's pond, and the
Redhead flock was still present on the main injector moat.
We did not relocate the
Greater Scaup that had seen
yesterday, but we did find several
Greater White-fronted Geese and a lone
Snow Goose. Apart from a
Red-breasted Nuthatch the feeders were disappointing .. no sign of
yesterday's
Purple Finch. On a more positive note we did
come across a small flock of
Cedar Waxwings and had two
sightings of
American Crows.
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