Registrar: Suzanne Zywicki
Participants: 6
Weather: Initial light rain, with temperatures in the 70’s. Rain briefly turned heavy and then gradually stopped
Bird Species: 22
After a delayed start due to expected rain, the group met at St. Nicholas Park, a new birding location for Linnaean Society trips and a local “patch” for our trip leader and a few participants. Soon after we began our walk, the light rain turned heavy and we took shelter under sidewalk scaffolding until conditions improved.
Once back in the park we saw the first of over fifteen American Redstarts we encountered. While getting a little frustrated that every warbler we observed seemed to be a Redstart, we were soon rewarded with great views of a Prairie Warbler, a lifer for at least one person in our group.
We later saw several Black-and-white Warblers, a Northern Parula and an intriguing but elusive warbler we were unable to definitively identify. Another highlight was a Cooper’s Hawk seen at relatively close range.
We then walked several blocks north to Jackie Robinson Park, another largely under-birded location. While we did not see any new species, we appreciated becoming familiar with a park that was new to most of us.
While the less-than-ideal weather prevented us from seeing as many birds as we had hoped, we all agreed that we’d like to do another group walk here in the Spring.
Species List
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Mourning Dove
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Blue Jay
Common Raven
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Veery
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Common Grackle
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal