January 12, 2009
Weekend bicycle birding
At the weekend I had the chance to go a little further afield, cycling out to the State Botanical Garden to join some local birders on Saturday. Purple Finches were coming to feed on berries adjacent to the river.
A single Brown Creeper was another new bird for the Georgia list. The wetland held a good-sized sparrow flock, including several Chipping and a couple of Swamp. Pine Warblers were singing; their song sounded remarkably like that of the Old World Bonelli's Warbler.
On Sunday I biked up the greenway to the Sandy Creek Nature Center. Just before arriving I ran into a single Rusty Blackbird in a treetop, only my second ever.
White-throated Sparrows were abundant - this dull, super stripy individual must be one of last year's young.
I walked the Cook's Trail as far as Oxbow Lake, encountering several pockets of bird activity along the way. It was a good day for woodpeckers, with a visual on Pileated Woodpecker and 4 different Yellow-shafted Flickers.
Sparrows seen included a lone Field Sparrow just south of the road junction, 2 Fox Sparrows on the Pine Crest Trail and this gorgeous Swamp Sparrow.
Several duck species were playing hide-and-seek among the clumps of vegetation at the Oxbow Lake - Ring-necked Ducks, Green-winged Teal, a pair of Wood Duck and 3 American Black Ducks were the most interesting.
A quick count-up reveals I've seen 54 species by bike or foot in the county this year - hopefully the pace will pick up once the Spring migration gets into full swing!
Posted by rjhall at January 12, 2009 4:32 PM