Saturday morning's bird walk saw 9 birders explore the Hinsdale set-backs along the Connecticut River. The species list is below. We counted 28 species of birds. The highlights included a surprisingly large number of Double-crested Cormorants (13) and the chance to observe an interesting interaction between a Brown-headed Cowbird and a pair of American Goldfinch. We noticed a pair of Goldfinch sitting on a nest, one feeding the other, when a female cowbird drove them away from the nest and sat in the nest for several seconds. It was impossible to tell if she actually laid an egg in the nest from our perspective, but this was a fascinating look at a seldom seen interaction!
Protocol: Traveling
Distance: 0.95 miles
Time: 2 hours and 39 minutes.
Species:
Canada Goose 4
Bufflehead 2
Common Merganser 6
Double-crested Cormorant 13
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Tree Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin X
Palm Warbler (Yellow) X
White-throated Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Common Grackle X
American Goldfinch X
X's indicate present but not counted.