This Sunday afternoon at the park was another warm and humid day. I saw a fair amount of birds today including a Cedar Waxwing, Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroat, Downy Woodpecker and the first American Redstart I've seen in a while. The strangest thing I saw was a little Chickadee feeding a young Cowbird that was twice it's size. I tried to get a photo of this but missed the moment. Interestingly, Brown-headed Cowbirds don't even build their own nests. Instead they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species and let that bird raise the young ones! In the past I've also seen a Cardinal feeding a young Cowbird.
One bird that is hard to miss this time of year are the brightly colored male Goldfinches. It would seem they are at the height of their plumage this time of year. I caught a small group of males and females on the ground of the baseball diamonds on the east side. You can see a blurry Chipping Sparrow in the background here. Due to the persistent rains we've been having, the outfields of this ball field and the paved trail that goes behind it are still flooded. This area goes underwater to some degree almost every year and it's funny to see the different types of birds that can be swimming right in the outfield.
Today I noticed a Great Egret walking through the water. I would assume he was looking for fish but I doubt any would have spilled over from the lake. On the south side I spotted yet another "shorebird" a Green Heron. You usually see these on the ground near or even in the water but this one had just landed up in a tree just off the wood chip trail.
After he landed and stood very still I realized how easily they can blend into the scene of the treetops which struck me as kind of interesting since I typically don't see them in that setting. I generally hear these birds more than I see them and they have a unique kind of one-note squawks that can be pretty loud.
One bird that is hard to miss this time of year are the brightly colored male Goldfinches. It would seem they are at the height of their plumage this time of year. I caught a small group of males and females on the ground of the baseball diamonds on the east side. You can see a blurry Chipping Sparrow in the background here. Due to the persistent rains we've been having, the outfields of this ball field and the paved trail that goes behind it are still flooded. This area goes underwater to some degree almost every year and it's funny to see the different types of birds that can be swimming right in the outfield. 
Today I noticed a Great Egret walking through the water. I would assume he was looking for fish but I doubt any would have spilled over from the lake. On the south side I spotted yet another "shorebird" a Green Heron. You usually see these on the ground near or even in the water but this one had just landed up in a tree just off the wood chip trail. 
After he landed and stood very still I realized how easily they can blend into the scene of the treetops which struck me as kind of interesting since I typically don't see them in that setting. I generally hear these birds more than I see them and they have a unique kind of one-note squawks that can be pretty loud.
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