photo by Carol Cooper
Ten people showed up at the Howard Christensen Nature Center Saturday morning for our first field trip since the Corona/Covid closures. There were plenty of birds vocalizing on the property and despite the summer foliage, several showed themselves.
Eastern Bluebird by Charlie DeWitt
We also enjoyed seeing several other plants and animals.
Male Common Whitetail Dragonfly
Female Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly
Huge Snapping Turtle by Carol Cooper
Green Frogs by Carol Cooper
As usual, Veerys sang and called all along our walk, as did Wood Thrushes and Ovenbirds. Yellow-billed Cuckoo was a first year bird for some and a first Kent County bird for others.
We also encountered Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, four "woodpeckers" (Red-bellied, Downy, Pileated and Northern Flicker), five flycatchers (Eastern Wood-pewee, Phoebe and Kingbird, Great Crested, and an "Empy" (Willow or Alder)), Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, four "sparrows" (Chipping, Field, Song and Eastern Towhee), American Redstart, Pine Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak among our 43 bird species.
Door to the home of an elf in the trunk of a tree near the lake.
