Report of the Apr 11, 2018 Early Morning Bird Walk, by Howard RobinsonÂ
Nineteen MVFN members showed up at 6 AM for the Apr 11th Early Morning Bird Walk at the Robinson’s property near Clayton, Mississippi Mills, Ontario. The temperature was -5 degrees C and did not get above freezing for the duration of the walk. The weather was more like Winter than Spring
For a brief period, the group identified birds by ear. As light levels increased, the team was able to use eyes and binoculars.
Most of Clayton Lake was iced over and we had a safe walk down the lake to check for waterfowl nearer Clayton.
After more than two hours of birding and an interlude for refreshments, the numbers were tallied. Only eighteen species of birds had been spotted or heard by the group. This was a lot lower than the 36 species counted last year during the same week. The colder weather is having its effect.
The Group List with the number of each species is as follows:
13 Canada Goose
2Â Wood Duck
9 Mallard
4 Common Goldeneye
6 Wild Turkey
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
2 Pileated Woodpecker
6 Blue Jay
9 American Crow
9 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
15 American Robin
8 Dark-eyed Junco
8 Song Sparrows
7 Common Grackle