Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 11/2/21

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Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 8am-10am
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Hallam Lake

This was a wonderful morning to be outside exploring in nature: the rain had paused and clouds wrapped around ridges and flanks of the surrounding mountains. Birds were active as they foraged during this window in the weather, and our outing began with a white-breasted nuthatch and a flock of common grackles in the cottonwood canopy above ACES’ driveway. We took note of commotion and crows nearby and discovered a juvenile red-tailed hawk. We were able to study its lighter iris color, extent of whitish mottling in its plumage, and its brownish tail which was the most prominent field mark for its age (lacking the namesake brick-red color of adults’ tails). The exposed lake bed has less bird activity this time due to the progress of earth-moving work, but green-winged teals and mallards were still foraging in the perimeters. Chickadees and pygmy nuthatches flew in loose flocks in the treetops. Today’s mini-lesson focused on the toll that window strikes take on birds: 1 billion annually. We discussed approaches to keeping birds safe around windows, from installing bird-safe patterned glass to hanging ribbons vertically over windows to create a visual effect that deters birds. Ribbons were handed out to participants so they could try them out at home. Join us on December 7th for the next Morning Birding outing at Hallam Lake!
 

Species List: 

Green-winged Teal
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Song Sparrow
Common Grackle

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Photo of Pgymy Nuthatch via Flickr