July 24, 1994
Driving home from returning my stepson to his mother, I made a stop at this wonderful wildlife refuge. This is one of the first solo birding excursions I ever made, and definitely my first wildly successful trip. I ended up seeing more than 45 species, including several life birds.
Early in the day, I saw a family of ☆Wild Turkey☆ – adults and several juveniles – as they crossed a dirt road in front of me within the park. I got out of my car and was able to view them for a couple of minutes before they moved into the woods. I also spotted a family of Ring-necked Pheasant cross the road and move into the woods. One of the frustrations of my day was “caused” by ☆Northern Bobwhite☆. I heard them in various areas of the park, and tried calling back to them. I did get a number of responses, allow me to hone in on their location, but as soon as I came too near, they would go quiet, and I never was able to catch a glimpse of any of them. Rude (j/k). I also saw my first ☆Wood Thrush☆ today.
Probably my favorite birds of the day were ☆Dickcissel☆ that I heard singing near the tops of small trees near the Nature Center. Unlike the Bobwhite, these were easy to spot and did not seem disturbed by my presence. Very charming!
Species List
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos), American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis tristis), American Kestrel (Falco sparverius sparverius), American Robin (Turdus migratorius migratorius), Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster), Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater ater), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica), Bronzed Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula versicolor), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas campicola), Dickcissel (Spiza americana), Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis sialis), Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias herodias), Great Egret (Ardea alba egretta), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus domesticus), House Wren (Troglodytes aedon parkmanii), Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus vociferus),
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura carolinensis), Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis floridanus), Yellow-shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus luteus), Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis serripennis), Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius spurius), Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis borealis), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus arctolegus),
Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Rock Dove (Columba livia f. domestica), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura septentrionalis), Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris), Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
Let me know what you think!