October BIG Day

 

Winter Wren

We started out yesterday to hit the river and then see what we felt like doing. Turns out there was a bass tournament at the Crossing, thus nowhere to park. We went straight to Yankee Hill instead.

And turns out like we felt like driving around all day.

You can get an idea of our adventures here: eBird Trip Report. If you click on the little green icons on the far right you can see more detail plus photos.

It was an amazing marathon of great fun, with the added benefit of peak fall color on area farms, woodlands, and fields, which was pretty spectacular. I thank Ralph for patiently driving, and then sleeping in the car while I hiked...although he did walk with me in the Lost Valley State Forest, which was an autumn cathedral of stained glass leaves, and whistling winds. (Hardly any birds there, but the beauty was well worth the walk.)

Mystery Tracks
Pad shape says canid but no claw marks?

Highlight birds were first of all, amazing good fortune in seeing lots of birds that, while not rare, are certainly not seen every day, such as Double-crested Cormorant, two of the commoner falcons, TONS of Wild Turkeys, an early morning Killdeer out in the yard (completing our set of common migrants seen at the house this fall) and a lone Hoodie.

Best birds from my point of view were an obliging little Winter Wren that came out to the bike path to scold me and pose for photos and recording, and TWO Pied Billed Grebes at Goldman Road.

All in all it was a spectacular day that I will treasure long in memories. Foggy today, but I will go chasing here at the house as soon as it gets a bit lighter.

BTW, I am so impressed by how fast local farmers got the corn harvested this year! Wow! Well done!