ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 04/02/24

The morning began with a mixed flock of crows, magpies, and one raven that were mobbing something in the forest over ACES’ entrance by the stone pillars where Morning Birding meets. Upon searching the trees, Liz spotted the Cooper’s hawk that was perched on a horizontal branch, eating prey. The crowd of birds kept up their alarm calling, joined by a couple of robins, until the hawk flew off with the rest of its meal in its talons. We had a great opportunity to study the hawk through scopes, noting its field marks and behavior. We lingered to try to see where the hawk went, but were unable to find it again. Ospreys, Great blue herons, Song sparrows, and woodpeckers kept us alert as they flew overhead or called from the surroundings. We then spent time in the Hallam Lake preserve where we observed nuthatches, chickadees, and Pine siskins at the feeders, and an assortment of waterfowl and waterbirds on the lake. An interesting highlight was coming across some duck wing feathers by the trail and a lot of downy feathers under a nearby spruce tree – a male mallard had been a meal for a predator there. We studied the feathers and discussed their various shapes, iridescence, plumes, and purposes. We also found the curly talk feather! Join us for the next upcoming Morning Biding outing on May 7th at Hallam Lake!

Canada Goose

Gadwall

Ring-necked Duck

Mallard

Pied-billed Grebe

Band-tailed Pigeon

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Cooper’s Hawk

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

American Robin

House Finch

Pine Siskin

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird