Report of the Apr 18, 2018 Early Morning Bird Walk, by Michel Gauthier
In spite of the cold temperature and the threatening clouds, ten of us met at the corner of Wolf Grove Road and Lanark Concession 12C, eager to see as many birds as we could. After a few grumbles about the never-ending winter, we proceeded slowly down the lane, listening intently for bird songs and eyeing every tree and every shrub.
Slowly, ever so slowly, we began to record a few species, but the birds made themselves scarce. An hour later, we reached Taylor Lake, hoping to add many species of waterfowl to our dismal list. A thick blanket of ice over the lake smothered our hopes.
In the middle of the lake, a lone coyote was sniffing the ice, seemingly searching for a morsel of food. Eventually, it lifted its head, nothing in its mouth. It looked around for a few seconds, and then trudged away, looking dejected. For some reason, we understood his disappointment.
We turned our back to the lake and headed up the lane, still looking for birds. Near the end, the tally stood at a paltry eighteen, a sharp decline over last year’s twenty-nine.
Just before we reached the cars, the clouds shifted, and a patch of blue sky appeared above the road. Our spirits lifted. There is always next week!
Following is the list of birds recorded during the outing:
Canada Goose 2
Ruffed Grouse 1
Wild Turkey 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 6
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 9
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
American Robin 3
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle 8
American Goldfinch 2
We hope you will join us on our last Early Morning Bird Walk of the year, on Wednesday April 25, 2018. For details check this link: 2018 Early Morning Birding
