Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon
Temp: 28° F
Winds: NW 25mph
Weather Conditions: clear/windy
Today’s walk reminded me once again why we get up early on a cold winter’s morning and go birding. Any of a number of things would have made it worthwhile: the flock of pipits that landed on the lawn before we’d even left the park; the sight of 14 Great Egrets, shining bright white in the morning sun; the Hermit thrush feeding on a lawn just a few feet away; the chance to study differences between female mergansers side-by-side on Lily Lake, one a hooded merganser, the other a Common. And then there was the River Otter that surfaced on Lighthouse Pond, feeding for a few minutes on its catch of the day.
53 species
| Species | Count |
| Canada Goose | 6 |
| Mute Swan | 9 |
| Northern Shoveler | 5 |
| Gadwall | 15 |
| American Wigeon | 12 |
| Mallard | 8 |
| American Black Duck | 2 |
| Northern Pintail | 6 |
| Green-winged Teal (American) | 6 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 22 |
| Bufflehead | 8 |
| Hooded Merganser | 4 |
| Common Merganser (North American) | 1 |
| Ruddy Duck | 2 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 1 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) | 9 |
| Mourning Dove | 17 |
| American Coot (Red-shielded) | 1 |
| Bonaparte’s Gull | 5 |
| Herring Gull (American) | 1 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 5 |
| Great Blue Heron (Blue form) | 3 |
| Great Egret | 14 |
| Black Vulture | 2 |
| Turkey Vulture | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 1 |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 1 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 2 |
| American Crow | 2 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 4 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 1 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 6 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch (Eastern) | 1 |
| Carolina Wren (Northern) | 8 |
| European Starling | 9 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 2 |
| Hermit Thrush | 1 |
| American Robin | 10 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 25 |
| House Sparrow | 5 |
| American Pipit | 13 |
| House Finch | 18 |
| Purple Finch (Eastern) | 2 |
| American Goldfinch | 2 |
| Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) | 10 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 5 |
| Song Sparrow | 8 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 5 |
| Common Grackle (Purple) | 4 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 8 |
| Northern Cardinal | 7 |
Hermit Thrush photo by Kathy Horn
River Otter photo by Kathy Horn
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker photo by Kathy Horn
