Birding on the last day of March
Thatcher Woods, IL
Tuesday 31 March 2020
38 °F
I woke up again this morning to the sound of FOX SPARROWS — a pleasant surprise:
A pretty female cardinal was in the yard too:
Cardinal mating ritual — the male grabs a seed from the feeder and feeds it to the female. How chivalrous!
Later today, I birded Thatcher Woods in hopes of any new migrants. It was cold and windy but there were a few birds around. I quickly found the trail to be flooded from the recent rains — this is truly a “floodplain forest!”
Migrants were evident — BROWN CREEPER:
EASTERN PHOEBE:
More Fox Sparrows:
Their relative the DARK-EYED JUNCO:
Probably the “best” bird today was this juvenile BALD EAGLE which made a quick pass overhead at one point. My first for Thatcher Woods!
WOOD DUCK — they appear to be nesting in the floodplain:
White-tailed Deer:
COMMON GRACKLE among many. Unfortunately, no Rusty Blackbirds seemed to be present despite a thorough search of the grackle flock.
Another surprise was a BUFFLEHEAD just across 1st Ave in Silver Creek. Another first for the Thatcher area!
Bird-of-the-day to the Bald Eagle with runner-up to the Bufflehead. Stay tuned for many more days of solitary birding...
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1111 Species
I love your birding blog, Henry. You have many fans! Thanks for sharing your photos and stories.
by Anne Bowhay