Morning Birding Species List | September 30, 2014

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 7:30AM – 10:30AM
Weather: mostly cloudy
Location: Hallam Lake, North Star Nature Preserve

Species Identified
Mallard Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Steller’s Jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee		American Robin Virginia’s Warbler Vesper Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Brewer’s Blackbird House Finch

Comments: With cooler temperatures and a spell of rainy weather, we had to work hard for the birds this morning, but were rewarded with some fantastic sightings. At North Star, shrubs were teeming with small songbirds, providing an excellent ‘sparrow study.’  Through the scope, distinguishing details among the four sparrow species in today’s list were visible, and with juveniles mixed into the flock, the learning experience was superb. The highly variable weather during fall can also lead to ‘fall out’ conditions when migrating birds are forced to hunker down, and can be fairly easy to see – so keep your binoculars handy for mornings following stormy weather.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Naturalist