River Bank Trail

Fresh Adult Eastern Black-capped Chickadee Eating Seeds of Cattail
Adult Male Eastern Northern Cardinal Searching for Seeds

Fresh Adult Eastern Black-capped Chickadee Being Territorial

Pair of Purple Finches Perched

This morning I woke up and found sparrows feeding on my platform feeder, then my dad came down and we went to River Bank Trail. On the way there my dad had drove into a dead end and was just about to turn around until I said "Stop, look". A silhouette of a bird that had a plump body and a short tail was perched in a tree nearby, so I got the binoculars and looked at it. It was a meadowlark, I had realised that I had seen that same silhouette earlier before so that wasn't the only one I saw. There must a lot of meadowlarks in the neighbourhood. My dad and I were very excited but it flew away before I could get a picture of it and it didn't sing so it is was very difficult to identify what type it was, it was an eastern because of the white malar. Anyway my dad kept driving and as soon as we arrived there someone started walking their dog. They didn't even clean up after it! We let them walk ahead of us. We sat down preparing for a hike, we entered the meadow part, there was a Purple Finch and a Brown Thrasher which was of course "thrashing" leaves under a bush. Next we walked under a canopy forest, Northern Parulas and Black-throated Blue Warblers were singing. Also, when we came out from under the canopy forest I heard an American Woodcock repeating it's call, but there was something else calling in the background. I got the binoculars and searched, it was a gull-like bird with brownish wings. Now that I've identified it, it was a Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrid 1st winter. Next my dad pointed out than a birder behind us was trying to get pictures to get a picture of the woodcock I spotted, I mumbled sarcastically "good luck with that". Of course he didn't get a picture of it. Next I heard a B-bee gun shot, and a goose flew up in a tree! Then I heard it again and flew away. Later I saw a goose NOT walking properly, someone had shot it's wing! WHY DO PEOPLE SHOT BIRDS FOR NO REASON!!! Anyway, we moved on because there was nothing we could do about it. The same birder from before was feeding chickadees and cardinals. That was the end of the trail so we hiked back and drove home.

Total Names of Birds Seen:

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Cardinal

Black-capped Chickadee

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Crow

Mourning Dove

Purple Finch

Canada Goose

Common Grackle

Glaucous x Herring Gull (Check for Life List)

Ring-billed Gull

Cooper's Hawk (Check for 2009)

Blue Jay

Mallard

Eastern Meadowlark (Check for 2009)

Northern Parula (Check for 2009)

Feral Pigeon

American Robin

American Tree Sparrow

Chipping sparrow

House Sparrow

Song Sparrow

European Starling

Brown Thrasher (Check for 2009)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Check for 2009)

American Wodcock

Downy Woodpecker

Total Number of Birds Seen: 28 species

Goodbye,

Birdman