Today was the second Todd Bird Club outing of the year at Yellow Creek SP. This was my first time joining members of the club at Yellow Creek. I’ve birded the park several times over the past few years and have had good luck. I was hoping for a few new year birds today and my luck panned out. We birded the park from about 8:00 am to almost noon. There were five of us for this morning’s outing.
Birders at the Todd Bird Club outing at Yellow Creek SP on 1/10/2012
We made several stops as we drove around the lake to check for waterfowl and for any sparrows that may have been lingering in the brush. We were able to find 25 species of birds during the four hours. The main highlight during morning were two Common Goldeneyes. We did find six species of waterbirds including Common Mergansers and American Coots. Most of the water was open, but I was surprised by the lack of waterbird numbers.
Lee checking the lake for waterfowl at Yellow Creek SP on 1/10/2012
Yellow Creek SP on 1/10/2012
Sparrows were extremely hard to come by and we were only able to find three American Tree Sparrows. In the four hours, I picked up three new year birds including Common Merganser, American Black Duck, and Belted Kingfisher bringing my year list up to 63 species. Birds were not very cooperative for photos today, but I did manage to catch this male Eastern Bluebird.
Eastern Bluebird protecting the law at Yellow Creek SP on 1/10/2012
Here is the complete list from the morning:
Canada Goose, 60
American Black Duck, 2
Mallard, 3
Common Goldeneye, 2
Common Merganser, 2
American Coot, 54
Belted Kingfisher, 1
Downy Woodpecker, 2
Hairy Woodpecker, 1
Pileated Woodpecker, 1
Blue Jay, 3
American Crow, 18
Common Raven, 1
Black-capped Chickadee, 18
Tufted Titmouse, 1
White-breasted Nuthatch, 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 3
Eastern Bluebird, 3
American Robin, 1
Northern Mockingbird, 1
Cedar Waxwing, 1
American Tree Sparrow, 3
Dark-eyed Junco, 4
Northern Cardinal, 1
American Goldfinch, 5
