Journal archives for February 2018

February 18, 2018

Nalle Bunny Run 2018-02-17

Only four people participated in the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run yesterday. We enjoyed a cool overcast morning, seeing the preserve and finding 22 species of birds. Before we even started walking a group of 80-100 Cedar Waxwings dramatically flew in and briefly landed almost over our heads by the gate. A few of the flock stayed behind and we were able to watch them through our binoculars closely and hear their subtle calls.

Our year-round resident birds have started to reflect the nearness of spring in their behavior by showing more territorial aggression and by singing! Northern Cardinal song was almost a constant background sound, with Black-crested Titmice and Carolina Chickadees often joining in.

By the lake on the sandy prairie habitat we found two of our three wintering falcon species: a beautiful male American Kestrel and this Merlin, likely the same one the group saw last month.

Merlin

A little bit later we found this Osprey across the lake, perched in a dead tree:

Osprey

Here's our complete bird list.

Posted on February 18, 2018 10:47 PM by mikaelb mikaelb | 3 observations | 0 comments | Leave a comment