First Saturday Birdwalk News

Pileated Woodpecker, male, Irene Rinehart Park, 2/4/23
Red-breasted Nuthatch cleaning a nest hole. 3/4/23

SUMMER, 2023

July. Early summer specialties!: mama Wood Duck with young ducklings in the beaver pond, ditto Common Merganser with 10 chicks in the river; Sora heard in the wetland, three Blackbird species, and for a finale, a Brown Creeper on the locust trunk in the parking lot after the walk! 35 species.

August. Many birds still vocal – Yellow Warblers, Western Wood-pewees, waxwings making a soft clucking. A Black-headed Grosbeak flew overhead. Mama Wood Duck with ducklings, and a Spotted Sandpiper trying to find a bit of bank to feed from. 30 species.

September. Now the birds are quiet: Western Wood-pewee over the river making no sound; same with a couple of warblers. Nice looks at an Osprey with a fish, and a pair of male Downies. A Lewis’ Woodpecker seen perched in sunlight across the river – a first for these birdwalks. 29 species plus a few.

First Saturday Birdwalk News

KAS leads 3 hour birdwalks on the first Saturday of each month. Highlights from recent trips are posted here.

WINTER SPECIALTIES IN 2023

Some unknown bird-lover puts seed mixtures in cups on wooden posts along the entrance roadway – the chickadees love it. We started adding seed too in January.

January. 23 species including 8 species of waterfowl on the upper pond including geese, Ring-necked and Mallard ducks, Wigeon, Pied-billed grebe, coots and Bufflehead. Nice look at a Green-winged Teal and several lady friends. Pileated Woodpecker hooting in the woods. Icy walking! plus a muskrat eating pond goo on an ice shelf.

On a grey February Saturday the forest trails were too icy to walk on. Our count suffered: 20 species, but still a nice waterfowl group on the pond: only Ringnecks were missing. The Pileated is getting regular and put on a show for us: high perches early with scope views; later excavating what seems to be a nest hole in a snag. We’ll keep watch at that location.

March. Geese moving, Downy Woodpeckers and robins chasing, Pileated drumming, and Red-breasted Nuthatches gleaning on a snag. 26 species on a chilly day.

SPRING, 2023

April. Violet-green Swallows and Ospreys have arrived, and Song Sparrows are singing. Chickadee spring song heard in the trees. Two Pileated Woodpecker flyovers! Quite a few Common Mergansers in the river. 29 species.

A flock of Cedar Waxwings devour maple tree flowers in late April

May. Pelicans came to visit. A pair of Wood Ducks in the bank-full river. Warblers and wrens in the woods. Many birds about; three kinds of swallows; a kestrel and a harrier in the wetland. Robins tending several eye-level nests. We tallied 40 species.

June. Another big month with 44 species collected: e.g. Nashville Warbler, seven White Pelicans, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Gray Catbird and Bullock’s Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak and a pair of Northern Harriers being harried!