Fall is coming

So, although I've been at the park regularly and observing birds there, I've neglected to update this blog in a very long time, so here again is a little recap of the past few months.

I've noticed a couple things about this year compared with last:

First, we had very few warblers coming through during the spring. I think I had a total of 8 warbler species, and for most of those I only saw a single bird of the species. I did see my first-ever Ovenbird at Powderhorn Park in June, which raised the total to 9 for the year, and it appears that the fall migration may bring a few more warblers our way. I've already added several additional species for the year (though they haven't showed up at Powderhorn Park yet): Black-and-white, Canada (a new species for me as well), Chestnut-sided, and Wilson's.

Secondly, it seems that heron numbers are down a bit at the lake compared to last year. I've seen a great blue heron regularly, but great egrets are rare, and green herons are basically non-existant this year. For a while, I was seeing a black-crowned night-heron or two regularly, but they also disappeared for quite a while this summer.

Some other less-common birds seen at the park since last update: Eastern Screech-Owl, Indigo Bunting, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, and Cedar Waxwing.