Hello everyone,
Happy Holidays to all!
We had a most interesting walk on this winter solstice. We were happy to find two female Common Mergansers swimming in the west lagoon. Once again, there were a lot of Black-capped Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos about.
Our raccoon stakeout spot was occupied. We could see three ears which we assume was two raccoons, not a three-eared raccoon. They were sleeping peacefully. The large Red-tailed Hawk is still around and perched in a tree for us to easily view her. We were pleased to see that our Eastern Bluebird flock is still present and very active. The blue color of the males is so striking, even in winter. A Merlin perched at the top of the museum was a nice way to end the walk.
Once again this week, the beavers provided drama. When we reached the music bridge, we looked over the side and found three beavers trapped on the east side of the bridge. One large one and two smaller ones. The beaver ladder that was constructed by our group last week had fallen into the water when the ice melted so of course our valiant beaver rescuers went to work again. Boards were pulled out of a nearby dumpster, branches and logs were gathered, and the group constructed a terrific ladder for the beavers. We left, hoping they would figure out that they should use it to escape while we weren’t looking.
Eric and his son Eli went back to the park a bit later to find that the beavers hadn’t escaped yet, and that they seemed a bit puzzled by the boards. They seemed to recognize the branches, Eric and Eli observed. So, the Ginsburg team sprung into action and created another ladder with boards, lots of branches and two tree trunks! They watched for a while and finally, two of the three beavers climbed up and escaped! Great job Eric and Eli!
Unfortunately, the story for the third beaver does not have a happy ending. Mike and I went back over to the park on Sunday afternoon to find that the remaining beaver had died. It’s sad, but our group, plus Eli, should be very proud that their efforts saved two of the three beavers. I hope that the beavers learned their lesson and will not go over the weir again. But, the two ladders are well anchored so they should stay in place for some time, in case they are needed again.
BIRDERS: Janet, Luther, Mark C., Kristin, Mike, Jennie, Mark W., Lucy, Evan, Maddy, Darby, Audrey, Leslie, Daniela, Peter, Eric, Jane and welcome to Mia.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:15am
WEATHER: High 20s, cloudy
Compiler: Mike
Photographers: Eric, Leslie, Jane, Mike
Canada Goose Number observed: 257
Mallard Number observed: 11
Common Merganser Number observed: 2
American Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 7
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
Merlin Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 13
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 15
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 17
Eastern Bluebird Number observed: 8
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 6
House Sparrow Number observed: 6
House Finch Number observed: 9
American Goldfinch Number observed: 12
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 18
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 11
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
Corrections, additions, and comments are welcome.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie
Photo: White-crowned-Sparrow by Geri Kodey