Morning Birding Species List | February 6, 2018

---

Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 8:30AM – 11:30AM
Weather: Partly cloudy with periods of snowfall. 
Location: Hallam Lake, and private residence on West Buttermilk Road.

Species Identified
Canada Goose Mallard Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck Northern Goshawk Belted Kingfisher Steller’s Jay Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch American Dipper Red-winged Blackbird

Comments: 

Intermittent falling snow and brief windows of sunshine along with a fresh layer of snow on the trees and ground made this an especially beautiful morning. Bird activity picked up somewhat as is usual after new snow. Today’s highlight was a juvenile Northern Goshawk that made two out-and-back flights between the spruce forest on the south side of the lake and the cottonwoods on the levy. We got quick looks at it both times with the scope, and later were able to study photos taken by Dale Armstrong. The birding group had an overall sense that the bird’s size was on the large side (as opposed to the smaller Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, whose juvenile plumage is very similar to that of Northern Goshawk), and the other field marks that together clinched this ID were the prominent whitish supercillium, uneven bands on the tail, and the dark chevrons on the undertail coverts. Along with this excellent accipiter ID lesson, we observed Red-winged Blackbirds with their buffy-edged winter plumage, American Dippers and a Belted Kingfisher actively feeding, and a Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay along with other winter feeder birds at the private residence. Join us for the next Morning Birding outing on March 6th, when the class meets earlier, 8AM – 11AM.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

Photo by Dale Armstrong