Morning Birding Species List | June 25, 2019

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 6:30AM – 9:30AM
Weather: Sunny
Location: Hallam Lake and West Buttermilk Road

Species Identified

Canada Goose Mallard Eurasian Collared-Dove Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird Great Blue Heron Northern Flicker Cordilleran Flycatcher Western Wood-Pewee Warbling Vireo Steller’s Jay Violet-green Swallow House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Cedar Waxwing Pine Siskin Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Yellow Warbler

Comments:

After a cold, rainy, snowy weekend, bird activity was back in full swing with singing and foraging. We spent the morning at Hallam Lake where we were able to study pine siskins, Lincoln’s sparrows, song sparrows, and ruby-crowned kinglets, learning their visual field marks as well as their songs. Violet-green swallows feeding low over the lake also provided an excellent study for their flight style, field marks, and flight calls. We were able to see their beautiful violet and green colors on the upper plumage in excellent light when an individual perched fairly low and close. We focused on watching birds vocalize, seeing the bill open, head tilted back, and body movements. Our mini-field trip was to a private residence on West Buttermilk Road where we saw three species of hummingbirds as well as a few other passerines in excellent habitat surrounding flower gardens and hummingbird feeders. It is early for rufous hummingbirds to be in the area, but we saw at least two and possibly three at this location. We studied their flight, feeding, and behaviors, and learned about some of their unique adaptations and their roles in local ecology. We will dedicate Tuesday July 16th’s Morning Birding outing as a ‘hummingbird study’ at this location where we will dive deeper into hummingbird life history and hopefully also see the calliope as a fourth local species. Join us this weekend for two days of birding field trips with Bill Schmoker, an expert birder and bird photographer who will be teaching us about bird behavior and songs in the field and in the classroom.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong