Morning Birding Species List | December 3, 2019

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Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 8AM – 11AM
Weather: Partly cloudy
Location: Hallam Lake
 

Species Identified

Great Blue Heron Downy Woodpecker Steller’s Jay Black-billed Magpie Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Pygmy Nuthatch Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon, slate-colored, gray-headed)

 

Comments:

With a lot of of bird activity in the preserve, we were able to observe and discuss interesting behaviors and winter strategies as well as field marks for the species we encountered. Birds had gathered around the feeders and were also concentrated in the large, mature cottonwoods, balsam poplars, and willows near the visitor center, making it fun and easy to see and make comparisons among the different birds. Highlights were a great blue heron that we saw at the water’s edge as well as in flight, the three subspecies of juncos, many pygmy nuthatches at the feeder as well as high in the cottonwood canopy, and a downy woodpecker. We enjoyed new views into spaces in the preserve that are visible now that the deciduous foliage is gone, plus newly open areas where the beavers have been cutting willows and young cottonwoods. The new viewing platform near the back of the preserve was another bonus. Mammals were highlights as well: many deer bedded down beneath spruce trees, pine squirrels, and muskrats actively feeding on aquatic vegetation. Join us on December 15th for the Christmas Bird Count and for Morning Birding on Tuesday, January 7th!

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong