March 24th Excursion
The morning of March 24th a line of thunderstorms moved through the area, yet by 10 o'clock it was sunny and clear. I arrived at MP-ONC around 1:00 pm, well after the storms had passed through. Even from the parking area it was clear that the early morning storms would make for a muddy outing.
As I walked across a small field to the ONC entrance I noticed to Northern Flickers hopping around the base of a snag alongside Coal Creek. I peered through my scope and established that one was a male and the other a female. From what I have read, Northern Flickers' diets consist largely of ants which they forage for terrestrially, unlike most woodpeckers.
In the past 3 weeks or so, I have heard many more Northern Cardinals singing what I assume is a mating or territorial song. I have seen the songs described as " purdy, purdy, purdy...whoit, whoit, whoit, whoit, what-cheer, what-cheer... wheet, wheet, wheet", which is a pretty good translation. I probably heard between 8-12 male cardinals singing throughout ONC on the 3/24 outing.
I walked along Coal Creek and then followed the boardwalk across Blackbird Marsh to the observation platform overlooking Lake Sherry. While walking along the board walk I could hear a loud ruckus, most likely Canada Geese honking, coming from Lake Sherry. When I came to the end of the boardwalk I could see two Canada Geese foraging along the shore, no less than 100 feet from me. I was able to snap several decent pictures of the pair, as well as a small group of Northern Shovelers that landed nearby while I had my camera out.
Lake Sherry's water level was relatively high, no doubt because of the early morning thunderstorms. This meant that the conditions were more favorable for ducks and wading birds, less so for shorebirds (sandpipers, kildeer, snipe, etc). Strangely enough, I didn't see one wading bird during the entire excursion.
From the observation I counted 8 Canada Geese, some foraging on the water, others had gathered on the small island in the middle of the lake. A total of 60~ Northern Shovelers were observed in various locations on the lake. 24 Blue-winged Teal and 2 Green-winged Teal were seen in several groups. On the east side of the lake I spotted a male and female Bufflehead near a group of 18 Ring-necked Ducks. From the observation deck I could count 20 Gadwall, though from the photographic blind later I would count 65 or more.
Lately, Lake Sherry has been a great place to view waterfowl, and soon enough the regular lineup of wading birds should be here. Last week I saw the first Great Egret of the season, hopefully the Little Blue Heron will show up soon. The wading bird I am looking forward to seeing again is the Snowy Egret. Their high-energy fishing techniques are very interesting to watch.
While walking west from the observation deck I spied a small "microbird" (Kinglet or Gnatcatcher) hopping about on the vines entangled in a nearby tree. Using my binoculars (he was less than 15 feet away) I determined the microbird to be a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. In the next couple of months one will see an avian "changing of the guard" when the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher replaces the Golden and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets. From my position near the kinglet I walked south, crossed Warren Bridge over Coal Creek, and proceeded north to the photographic blind facing Lake Sherry. Here I recounted the waterfowl mentioned above and took several pictures of the blind.
I walked from the photographic blind north to the Wildlife Study Trail. I spent 20 minutes or so trying to get a photo of the newly-arrived butterflies, which, I assure you, is a fool's errand. I took several pictures of a Monarch on a flower, but I could not get a single shot of a black and blue butterfly that hovered around my vicinity. Another day, I suppose.
On the side of the Wildlife Study Trail I encountered prime Sparrow territory: plenty of debris from the ice storm, thick undergrowth, and some tallgrass. Several sparrows could be seen flitting about, 4 of which I could identify as Song Sparrows. Perched on a low-lying limb eating some buds was a lone White-throated Sparrow. Earlier in the day I had seen a single Dark-eyed Junco by Coal Creek, which is unusual since they tend to stay in groups.
On the west side of the Wildlife Study Trail, near where it meets the paved through way, is a cleared area that makes a great spot to watch a large bend in Bird Creek. On the 3/24 outing I spotted a male Belted Kingfisher perched just inches above the water. He flew off and rattled off an alarm to warn his nearby allies. Last summer I saw a mated pair of kingfishers on a regular basis from this outlook. Maybe the male I saw on the 24th is the same one from last year.
I followed the paved through way from the Wildlife Study Trail around the north and east sides of Lake Sherry. While on the trail I was surprised by two Pileated Woodpeckers who flushed from a nearby grove, calling very loudly. One landed less than 50 feet from me, but when I tried to inch closer, it flew off beyond my vision.
I walked west, in the direction of my car, and opted to walk along the flowline rather than the usual route. Overhead I could hear, then see, several Red-shouldered Hawks flying low over the wooded sections on each side of the flowline. One landed 150 feet from where I was standing, perched above a marshy pool, and stared intently below. The hawk looked at me then back at the pool. He dropped from his perch and splashed into the pool, then flew back to the perch, carrying an unfortunate frog in his talons. The hawk devoured a portion of his catch, then flew off to search for another morsel.
I was quite pleased to see 24 species during an afternoon outing. The large amount of waterfowl present on Lake Sherry definitely boosts the amount of birds one can watch at ONC. I am looking forward to seeing some of the summer's usual suspects return in the following weeks.
Bird Count:
Location: Mohawk Park--Oxley Nature Center
Observation date: 3/24/09 Number of species: 24
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 8
Gadwall - Anas strepera 65
Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors 24
Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata 60
Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca 2
Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris 18
Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola 2
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus 3
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon 1
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 2
Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus 2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 1
Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis 10
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Regulus calendula 1
Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 7
Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 1
White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 2
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 1
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 7
Eastern Meadowlark - Sturnella magna 2
Photos:
Top: An Oklahoma Redbud (Cercis reniformis) blossom in bloom
Middle: A Monarch Butterfly feeding on
Bottom: Two Canada Geese foraging along the sides of Lake Sherry
-SPQ 3/25/2009
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