An atmospheric pipeline ushered in warm weather all weekend from the Gulf of Mexico, also brought lots of rain with it. We had 2+ inches of rain since Friday evening that ended earlier this morning. I hiked here in Old Trail. The wetlands were very wet! But I did see 24 species of birds there, and two more species (Mallards and a Red-bellied Woodpecker) when I hiked a bit more at other parts of the trail. Not a single Black or Turkey Vulture today - perhaps they were flying above the dense and low cloud cover. The best bird I saw today was a Swamp Sparrow - not that unusual, but I hadn't seen one for a couple of months. One of the resident Red-shouldered Hawks watched all the activity from high above in a tree at the edge of the wetlands.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrows
House Sparrows
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Carolina Wren
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Northern Flickers
Red-bellied Woodpecker
A male and a female House Finch were working on a nest. A few minutes later, a pair of Goldfinches landed in the same tree near the nest. Were they just checking out the building quality, or perhaps thinking about taking it over?
House Finches
American Goldfinches
Today's list:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Red-shouldered Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow