Hello everyone,
This is a combined report for our New Year’s Day walk and our usual Saturday walk on January 4, 2025.
We held our traditional New Year’s Day walk and we had a nice time in not too frigid weather. While our species list is small, we had a couple highlights that made it a great walk. A beautiful Red shouldered Hawk made an appearance and posed nicely for photos. The most exciting bird of the day was a magnificent adult Bald Eagle that soared over the soccer field, its bright white head and tail very apparent.
On Saturday, the weather was sunny, clear, and very cold. We moved quickly and took just under two hours to make the circuit, the first time this has happened since last winter. The most interesting sighting of the day was seeing a Chickadee and a Downy Woodpecker on the ice in the lagoon, apparently eating a slice of bread that fell into the water and froze in place. We had some nice Common Mergansers and our Golden-crowned Kinglet is still present. There were a lot of Canada Geese on the lagoons when we started the walk – the most we’ve seen in some time. However, as we made our way through the Island we heard a lot of honking, and when we arrived at the lagoon overlook at the north end of the soccer field, they were all gone – not a goose in sight. It was kind of eerie. Was that huge flock of geese just a figment of our collective imagination? Hmmm…
BIRDERS: Jan 1: Luther, Stacy, Marian, Jennie, Mike, Cheryl, Jane.
Jan 4: Cheryl, Mark W., Mark C., Luther, Marian, Mike, Caterina, Jennie, Daniela, Paul, Lucy, Marisa, Larry, Pam.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:15am and 8:00am to 9:55am
WEATHER: Jan 1: cloudy and 30 degrees. Jan 4: clear, sunny and 12 degrees.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Paul, Mike
Jan 1, 2025:
Canada Goose Number observed: 261
Mallard Number observed: 3
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 2
Common Merganser Number observed: 3
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 23
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 1
American Herring Gull Number observed: 6
Bald Eagle Number observed: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Northern Flicker Number observed: 2
American Crow Number observed: 6
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 9
European Starling Number observed: 4
American Goldfinch Number observed: 8
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 2
Jan 4, 2025:
Canada Goose Number observed: 548
Mallard Number observed: 2
Common Merganser Number observed: 4
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 10
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 1
American Herring Gull Number observed: 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 4
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 3
American Robin Number observed: 1
House Sparrow Number observed: 4
American Goldfinch Number observed: 2
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 1
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 3
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