Late March Birding

Combining Saturday and Sunday, I spent over 8 hours birding at Pheasant Branch Conservancy this weekend - 47 bird species were found. Here are a few observation highlights:

• First daytime American Woodcock I've ever seen at the corridor.
• First-of-spring Great Blue Herons & Hermit Thrush.
• Several hop-scratching Fox Sparrows.
• Singing Winter Wrens.

I spent some time digiscoping Cedar Waxwings feeding on buckthorn berries:









You'll notice the shallow focal depth due to my close proximity to the birds. For over an hour, in groups of 10 to 20 individuals at a time, the waxwings cycled through roosting, eating, drinking, and occasionally bathing. While I was busy with the waxwings, an American Robin flew in and perched on a small stump close by:



On my way home on Saturday, I came across a Sandhill Crane foraging in one of the agricultural fields adjacent to the conservancy. Digiscoping from my car, it kept coming closer, and closer, until I gave up trying to get an image of the entire bird. Actually, I think the body shot shows wonderful texture and color:







Location: Pheasant Branch
Observation date: 3/26/11 & 3/27/11
Number of species: 47

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Mallard

Northern Shoveler

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Cooper's Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Killdeer

American Woodcock

Ring-billed Gull

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Great Horned Owl

Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Winter Wren

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

American Tree Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Meadowlark

Common Grackle

House Finch

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

All images © 2011 Mike McDowell