The Stroud Preserve, 14 February 2013

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The Stroud Preserve, from the parking area looking north at 8:55 AM.

The Stroud Preserve, from the parking area looking north at 8:55 AM.

The Stroud Preserve, from the parking area looking north at 11:25 AM. 

The Stroud Preserve, from the parking area looking north at 11:25 AM. 

As you can see from the photos above, my day started wintery and ended springy. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the bird activity was highest in the first 45 minutes of my walk when it was cold and snowy and quickly trailed off to pretty darn slow with small intervals of birds here and there by the end.

The bird of the day was an immature White-crowned Sparrow (#63 for 2013) that was seen near the Great Horned Owl’s nest. It was in the same field of view as the day’s only Fox Sparrow. The two Chipping Sparrows were seen at the western entrance to the preserve on Lucky Hill Road. Swamp Sparrow was a difficult to find today for some reason. I saw only one in the wet area west of the bridge over Brandywine. I checked all the regular spots for Tree and Savannah Sparrow but none were to be found.

Start time: 8:50

End time: 11:30

Temp: 38-42°

Wind: none

Skies: mostly clear

Species Total: 38

  • Great Blue Heron – 1
  • Black Vulture – 5, all on the ground in the field along Creek Road.
  • Turkey Vulture – approximately 20
  • Canada Goose – approximately 200
  • American Black Duck – 4
  • Mallard – approximately 50
  • Red-tailed Hawk – 4, 3 adults, 1 immature
  • Mourning Dove – 2
  • Great Horned Owl – 1
  • Belted Kingfisher – 1
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
  • Downy Woodpecker – approximately 6
  • Hairy Woodpecker – 2
  • Northern Flicker – 1
  • Blue Jay – approximately 12
  • American Crow – approximately 200
  • Fish Crow – 1
  • Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
  • Tufted Titmouse – approximately 15
  • White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
  • Carolina Wren – approximately 10
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4
  • Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
  • American Robin – 3
  • Northern Mockingbird – 3
  • European Starling – approximately 100
  • Chipping Sparrow – 2
  • Fox Sparrow – 1
  • Song Sparrow – approximately 50
  • Swamp Sparrow – 1
  • White-throated Sparrow – approximately 75
  • White-crowned Sparrow – 1 immature, Bird of the day!
  • Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 25
  • Northern Cardinal – approximately 20
  • Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 50
  • Common Grackle – 1
  • House Finch – 4
  • American Goldfinch – 3