March Birding at Hallam Lake 3/7/23

Spring seems just around the corner with the beginning of early bird singing behavior, including the chickadees, red-winged Blackbirds and song sparrows. We focused on ear birding to distinguish calls and songs of these species. We also enjoyed great observations of the grebes and ducks in excellent light, and discussed physical traits that make a grebe different from a duck, for example the grebes lobed toes and pointed bill shapes. Another highlight was a dipper foraging in a quiet waterway, using the edge of the ice as a perch and jumping in from there to forage in the open water. Pine siskins, pygmy and white-breasted nuthatches, and chickadees visited the feeders off the visitor center deck, giving us up-close views of these birds and their different approaches to opening sunflower seeds. Join us in April as early migrants begin to return to the valley and the season tips toward spring!