Winter Walks

I wasn't originally planning on going out today as it was snowing pretty hard in the morning, but as we reached noon the snow let up. I went down to my usual birding spot at Waldie. It must have snowed around 4in over night. The river was higher than usual which meant there weren't that many ducks in the oxbow. There were mostly Mallards, Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads.

While I was scanning the ducks I heard a distinct "chup" call note from the bushes beside me. It sounded a lot like a Varied Thrush, so I started scanning the bush. Eventually a bird flew into the open, it was a Varied Thrush, then two more popped up. What a beautiful bird!

Location: Waldie Island Trail

Date: January 12, 2011
Total Species: 18

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     14
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     34
Greater Scaup - Aythya marila     2
Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis     30
Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola     21
Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula     88
Barrow's Goldeneye - Bucephala islandica     6
Common Merganser - Mergus merganser     4
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     2
Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus     6
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]     1
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     6
Common Raven - Corvus corax     1
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     10
Varied Thrush - Ixoreus naevius     3
Bohemian Waxwing - Bombycilla garrulus     175
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     4
House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus     1