Three of us met this afternoon to see what birds we could find. Starting at the T&C playing fields parking lot at the end of Morris Lane, we crossed the creek then followed it downstream nearly all the way to Parmer. We had great luck! Here are some highlights:
- We got great looks at White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows, which can often be hard to see.
- We ran into a nice mixed flock of migrating songbirds in a wooded area including Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
- We saw Great Crested Flycatcher, Swainson's Hawk, and Broad-winged Hawk for the first time this season. (This was only the second time I've seen Broad-winged Hawk in the neighborhood.)
- We snuck up on 13 Blue-winged Teal on the creek and watched them as they slowly swam away. The males were in beautiful breeding plumage.
- We watched a male Black-chinned Hummingbird catching tiny insects out of the air. We could actually see its bill snapping shut. How often do you see a hummingbird away from a feeder?
- There was a male Belted Kingfisher sitting in a tree across the creek, quietly watching the water.
- By the last dam we saw 8-10 large fish. My guess is that they were Catostomids.
- We found this big turtle (probably a Red-eared Slider) on a hillside. When we returned, it had continued on its way. It might have been a female looking for a place to dig a hole for its eggs.
2 comments:
You didn't mention the herons, not that we got really good looks at them. -Eric
Oh yeah, the herons! We got a couple quick views of a Great Blue Heron flying away. And we flushed a Green Heron just just before we saw the kingfisher. Thanks!
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