Best Bird Day Ever (In April :)

APRIL 7th -

Best birding day ever! Left home at 7:00 and headed toward Magee Marsh. Saw multiple hawk's on the way. Stopped at East Harbor state park, kinglets, robins, chipping sparrows, sound sparrows, swallows, cardinals..The morning started off cold 34 degrees, winds SSE. Magee was cold and windy, highlights were creepers and Carolina wrens and multiple shorebirds. Herons, cranes, a variety of ducks, swans and the Eagle was at the Eagle tree on route 2. There were flocks of geese at Ottawa refuge, witnessed a goose and swan battle for territory. The temperature started rising around noon. We headed for a new place and saw a king Fisher, Blue bird and more Kinglets. One more pass through Magee and were on our way to Sandy Ridge reserve. By the time we arrived it was 58 degrees, Eagles, Hawks geese, ducks, swans, crane, red headed wood pecker, red bellied wood pecker, swallows, crane and back home to the cardinals, chickadees, sparrows and finches. In total we sighted 50 birds not including the one we could not identify.

 The complete list will follow; Blue Jay, Red wing black bird, Canadian Goose, chipping sparrow, Golden crown kinglet, house sparrow, white-throated sparrow, robin, mallard duck, cardinal, American crow, Great blue Heron, Downy woodpecker, Ring billed gull, European starling, Mute swan, Common Merganser, Brown-headed cow bird, Egret, Barn swallow, Morning dove, Pie-billed grebe, American Coot, Tundra swan, Northern shoveler, Common crackle, Brown creeper, Chickadee, Carolina wren, Bald Eagle, Double-crested cormorant, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted kingfisher, Eastern bluebird, Northern Rough-winged swallow, Tree swallow, Snow goose, Sand hill crane, Red headed woodpecker, Red bellied woodpecker, Song sparrow, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey vulture, House finch, Purple finch, Junco, Titmouse, Gadwall, Wood duck, Blue-winged teal, Green winged teal........ great day!!!

Well I finally starting add my birding experiences here. I started keeping my log on paper April 1st. April 6th has been one of my best birding days ever. Many of the birds I saw on this day were first sightings for me. Most exciting was probaly the kingfisher. Just perched on a guard rail along a country road at pickerel creek near blue heron reserve. We nearly missed him. I yelled to my mom "pull over it's a kingfisher!" you would've thought I'd seen a pot of gold. Oh life's simple pleasures. Today for the first time I realize how awesome the waterfowl are. Shame on me for not being so enthusiastic about them before. And of course, one can not deny the appeal of watching a bald eagle hunt, or doing nothing, for that that matter. What a majestic and beautiful bird.