Got around quite a bit today. I managed to get to Peach Hill Park in the morning, then Buttercup Farm briefly and ended at the Cary Institute.
At Peach Hill, I joined in with members of the Waterman Bird Club. While I'm sure they saw more than I did individually, I managed to see the following: -Belted Kingfisher (photographed) -Field Sparrow (photographed) -Song Sparrow (no photos) -Palm Warbler (photographed) -Hooded Warbler (no photos) Being a novice birder, I didn't even know it was a hooded warbler I was looking at, so big thanks to the WBC for their knowledge of birds. Also heard a brown thrasher, several flickers and a red bellied woodpecker. After that, I ate some lunch and headed to Buttercup Farm. It was short lived though, as I was unprepared to walk through such wet conditions. I did try, but I almost lost a shoe to the thick, deep mud. Did manage to see and photograph a few goldfinches and an eastern phoebe in the parking lot. Since I was still eager to look for birds, we decided to go to Cary Institute to finish up the day. After a quick stop at Fern Glen, we parked at the Bacon Flats and walked the loop. Here is some of the highlights: - 2 Blue-Grey Gnatcatchers (individually photographed) - 2 Northern Cardinals (male & female, male photographed) - 1 Eastern Phoebe (photographed) - 30+ Tree Swallows (photographed 20 in one photo!) - 2 Red Tailed Hawks (individually photographed) - 1 Wild Turkey (no photo) - Red Winged Blackbirds (photographed) - 1 Rusty Blackbird (photographed) Today alone, I photographed three birds I had never seen before (Gnatcatcher, Palm Warbler & Rusty Blackbird). I'm hoping to get somewhere tomorrow as well to push my birding luck. :) It's going to take a few days to go through all the photos from today, but I will post some of the more notable photos in the photo section when i get through them all. Happy birding!
