Pine Warbler and Field Sparrow.

After a heavy snow last week(heavy for this area) we were treated to a beautiful calm day for our census, with the temperature starting out in the low twenties but warming up nicely later in the day. There was still plenty of snow and ice on the ground in many areas. Due to the extensive snow coverage after the snow last week most of the white geese have left. We only saw 38 Snow Geese and 14 Ross's Geese. But there is no shortage of ducks with a count of 513 Northern Pintails, 319 Green-winged Teals, 184 Gadwalls, 82 Northern Shovelers, 39 Mallards, 4 Ring-necked Ducks, 16 Buffleheads, 1 Common Goldeneye, 32 Ruddy Ducks, 9 Hooded Mergansers and 483 unidentified dabbling ducks. We saw 5 Greater Roadrunners. In the afternoon a large number of gulls had accumulated on the sandbars off the end of Tern pad including 1600 Ring-billed Ducks and 4 American Herring Gulls. At Sandy Point we had nice closeup looks at a Pine Warbler. We saw a few shorebirds including 7 Wilson's Snipes, 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, 11 Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Killdeer and 5 Least Sandpipers. The Eared Grebe is still present in Silliman Marsh. We saw a total of 3 Belted Kingfishers and 3 Pileated Woodpeckers. We finished the day with 85 species. Today's photos, Pine Warbler and Field Sparrow.

January 7, 2024 Complete Bird Census

75 Species Observed, +2 other taxa, 7,497 individuals

Male and female Brewer's Blackbirds, a Northern Mockingbird and a Field Sparrow

It was a cold day, with a bone chilling wind blowing from the north for today's census. There are still at least 5500 white geese present. They were feeding near Silliman Road this morning and as we surveyed them a Bald Eagle approached and the geese scattered in total directions but a bit later they returned to the same location. There is one Greater White-fronted Goose mixed in with the group but we were unable to locate the Cackling Goose that has been seen with them recently. Duck numbers were good and many were staying around the edges of the marshes trying to stay out of the wind. We saw 320 Northern Pintails, 268 Green-winged Teals, 149 Gadwalls, 103 Northern Shovelers, 43 Mallards, 11 Canvasbacks, 3 American Wigeons, 15 Ring-necked Ducks, 3 Lesser Scaups, 2 Redheads, 25 Buffleheads 14 Ruddy Ducks and a couple of Hooded Mergansers. An Eared Grebe was present in Silliman Marsh and we had a total of 8 Pied-billed Grebes. We had one flyby Wilson's Snipe. We had a nice flock of Brewer's Blackbirds by a private residence on Hagerman Road. There was a Pine Warbler at Sandy Point. We saw a Pine Siskin, a bird that has been scarce this winter, mixed in with a flock of American Goldfinches at a residence on Short Road. We finished the day with 75 species, a count we were very pleased with considering the conditions. Photos, Male and female Brewer's Blackbirds, a Northern Mockingbird and a Field Sparrow.