Morning Birding Species List | October 1, 2019

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Tuesday, October 1, 2019, 8AM – 11AM
Weather: Sunny & breezy
Location: Hallam Lake and Hunter Creek Valley
 

Species Identified

Canada Goose Mallard Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Western Wood-Pewee Steller’s Jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee American Dipper Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Finch Pine Siskin Chipping Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Yellow-rumped Warbler Wilson’s Warbler Western Tanager

 

Comments:

Under a bluebird sky with the golden glow of fall aspen foliage, we enjoyed flocks of robins eating mountain ash berries, chickadees foraging in spruce trees, warblers in the willows, pine siskins feasting on cones in the crowns of spruces, and a dipper working the edges of the ponds. A hairy woodpecker gave us a good study, as well as mallards on Hallam Lake whose plumage was in various stages of molt going back into the breeding appearance. A male western tanager perched in morning light, providing a great chance to observe its body structure and gorgeous colors. Hunter Creek Valley had far less bird activity, but we observed that although the habitat is high quality, food resources there are far less concentrated than they are in a place like Hallam Lake with its rich biodiversity based on the ponds and wetlands. Birds in fall will be found where there is food. Today’s mini-lesson was a comparison of the field marks and voices of American versus lesser goldfinch, as well as a look at ballooning spiders which are a food resource certain birds, such as black swifts, commonly rely upon for a significant part of their intake. See this article in The Atlantic. Join us in two weeks on October 15th at Rock Bottom Ranch for the last birding outing of the year at this location.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong