Morning Birding Species List | July 21, 2015

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015, 6:30AM – 9:30AM
Weather: partly cloudy
Location: Hallam Lake, North Star Nature Preserve

Species Identified
Canada Goose Mallard Great blue Heron Red-tailed Hawk Spotted Sandpiper Broad-tailed Hummingbird Northern Flicker Red-naped Sapsucker Black-billed Magpie		American Crow Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow Black-capped Chickadee House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Sage Thrasher		Cedar Waxwing Yellow Warbler Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird (pictured above) House Finch Pine Siskin

Comments:
A light rain followed by sunshine brought out the birds for us this morning. Swallows feeding over Hallam Lake gave us great views of their in-flight field marks, and one spotted sandpiper chick was observed. At North Star, we learned about the many vegetation communities that come together there, creating a mosaic of rich biodiversity, including bird life. A sage thrasher gave us a good chance to study and solve it’s ID. It is the first sage thrasher observed on ACES outings there, and an unusual sight in the upper valley altogether. The group contributed thoughts, guesses, observations, and discussion leading to figuring the bird out- a valuable learning process, and an active way to learn. The morning was capped off by a cedar waxwing in excellent light.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide