Adventures in Birding

Bird Walk #48-52

If you choose your bird walks well, you'll see a lot of species! Walks that are advertised through local parks may get a lot of families with kids, and if you're a family with kids, that's great! If you're a serious birder, it might not be the best... Kids can get bored with birding and start making a lot of noise or running around or what have you, and that can make it hard to hear the birds or the guide...

I went on a bird walk with a local birding group this morning, and I got four new species, including two lifers!

I tried out my new lens, and I'm still learning, so my photos aren't the best. I did get this photo of an Eastern Screech Owl   that was sleeping! Soooo adorable! I think Saw-whet Owls are the cutest owls that we have here in Pennsylvania, but these guys are a very close second!

I love owls.

My new species today were: #48. Red-breasted Merganser. #49, Common Goldeneye. #50, Hairy Woodpecker. #51, Yellow-rumped Warbler (fairly rare for our area in Winter but they've been seen in this spot before at this time of year) and #52, Eastern Screech Owl.

It really, really helps to go out with knowledgeable guides and fellow birders! I'm not very good with waterfowl, so I don't think I would have identified the two new ones without others there!

We walked about 3.5 miles in four hours and saw 26 species! A great birding morning!