What a nice morning. It wasn't too cold, and
it was sunny for part
of the time. No wind, though that left us with a small amount of fog.
Nothing too serious. The birds sure were out, to make for a really good
day
for December. We saw just about everything one might expect to see,
plus a
few others.
Highlights:
BRANT Again, 1 with a large flock of Cacklers
Northern Pintail Some flying, some on lake
ducks, generally Nine species total, pretty good diversity
MERLIN Third week in a row. Chased by a crow.
Barn Owl Scott had one early at the windmill
Hairy Woodpecker One in East Meadow
Northern Shrike Adult in East Meadow
Varied Thrush Male at start of boardwalk
Cedar Waxwing Maybe 40 total - very active
Y.-rumped Warbler Two or three - scarce in December
Fox Sparrow LOTS - 20+
For the day, 61 species.
== Michael
Golden-crowned Sparrow, photo by Hugh Jennings
Two male Ring-necked Ducks, showing different plumages. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Female and male Purple Finch. Photo by Ollie Oliver
Male Spotted Towhee (top) and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Ollie.
Fox Sparrow photo by Ollie Oliver
Golden-crowned Kinglet photo by Ollie Oliver
Another great shot by Ollie
Varied Thrush near the start of the boardwalk
Northern Shrike in the East Meadow
The Merlin landed for just a moment in Snag Row before crows chased it off
Double-crested Cormorant photo by Lillian Reis
Bewick's Wren photo by Lillian Reis
Cedar Waxwing photo by Lillian Reis
Lillian Reis photographed three (of four) River Otters in the slough on 2009-12-18...
...and an Opossum in the Pea Patch