Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 4/5/22

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Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 8am-11am
Weather: Cloudy, with mixed and blustery conditions
Location: Hallam Lake

Spring migration is ramping up with new arrivals noted in the past couple of weeks: osprey, ruby-crowned kinglet, fox sparrow, and more! We practiced parsing out some of the new voices in today’s morning chorus, and focused on grabbing a “handle” that helps us remember key traits for each species, including things like unique behaviors, field marks, and characteristics of voice. Today’s highlights included moments of bursting bird activity, seeing birds in pairs (downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, and mallards), the first-of-season ruby-crowned kinglets for many of us in the group, side-by-side observations of hairy and downy woodpeckers, and watching a pair of dippers underway with nest construction!  The breeding season activities and behaviors were fascinating, and the group had many great questions; one being whether juvenile ospreys return to their natal locale to breed in subsequent years. Young birds usually stay on wintering grounds until two years of age; after that, they tend to return to their natal region where they search for a mate and suitable nesting site. These young birds not only compete with older, established pairs for nesting sites, but they also face a steep learning curve with regard to the whole breeding cycle… it often takes young birds several seasons to learn the ropes before they successfully fledge chicks. It will be fun to watch the pair that nests at Hallam Lake this summer; although they have been seen in the past couple of days, we did not see them during our outing today. Join us for our next birding outing!

Species List: 

Canada Goose Mallard
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Great Blue Heron
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted. Nuthatch
American Dipper
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide