3 Common Animals

Sunday morning I spent about 2 and a half hours birding Lake Creek Trail starting at Parmer Village. I hadn't realized that it had been over a month since I've birded this part of the trail. Last time was right after the flood. I started out by the Parmer Lane bridge and saw that most of the old cattails are dead (probably from the high water) but new ones are growing in. I played recordings of some of the marsh birds I've found here in the winter but the only one I saw or heard was a single male Common Yellowthroat in the reeds. Overall it was a breezy and quiet morning, but I was treated to 3 views of 3 common but beautiful animals we have here.

Northern Mockingbirds were particularly numerous yesterday. I counted 19 while I was out and on my way upstream from the bridge 3 or 4 were in some Rattlebush along side the creek bed. I was able to take 1 photo before they flew away and it ended up coming out quite nice. I like the variety of colors the seed pods are right now, and the bushes haven't lost their leaves yet.

Continuing my way upstream I crossed the last dam and birded the woods between the creek and Anderson Mill Road. The only birds I found were a couple Eastern Phoebes but by a smaller drainage that flows in the the creek I found 2 Raccoons. Of course these animals are extremely common, and I wasn't too happy last year when one got into my attic. But I sure did enjoy watching this pair by the creek. I got this photo of one of them.

I made my way back to the creek and across the dam to the patch of woods on the other side. Again, things were mostly quiet except for a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a couple House Wrens. But I found 2 Monarch Butterflies finding some shelter from the wind and I got this photo of one of them. Monarch Butterflies are migratory and these were making their way south to Mexico.