Good Finds on the Creek

I spent all morning birding the neighborhood, concentrating on the areas around the creek from the T&C parking lot at the end of Meadowheath all the way downstream to the Parmer Lane bridge. I found a Green Heron by the new hike-and-bike trail footbridge, a very rare bird here in the winter. I got this picture last weekend from very nearby. It's probably the same bird. Just past the playing fields I saw several birds for the first time this year. In a strip of woods by the creek I found a Red-shouldered Hawk. These live in our neighborhood year-round but for some reason I had not seen one in weeks. A few minutes later a Crested Caracara flew by overhead. These strange raptors have a striking appearance. I'd love to get a picture of one in the NASWC area.

I was most excited today to find a single Grasshopper Sparrow on the west side of Lake Creek between the last dam and the Parmer Lane bridge. I've only seen this bird twice before in the NASWC area, both times during migration. So it was neat to find one wintering here. There were many Savannah Sparrows and Vesper Sparrows in this area too. I ended up in a patch of marsh near the Parmer Lane bridge where I found a Marsh Wren, Swamp Sparrow, and several Song Sparrows. All-in-all I found 48 species this morning, including 9 species of native sparrows.