No it didn’t rain! Though the clouds lingered we had a great time in Schenley Park on Sunday morning.

The leaves obscured some of the birds but they were very active after Saturday night’s storms.  We chased scarlet tanager songs without seeing them, found one of the many wood thrushes we heard in the park and had good looks at these Best Birds:

A pair of eastern phoebes guarded their nest site at the Visitors’ Center. This one watched us walk into the park.

We saw a pair of cedar waxwings beak-touching and courting.

And a male pileated woodpecker attracted our attention by constantly hammering on an enormous hollow tree. Peter Bell found him high up the slope. Best Bird for the outing and Life Bird for Peter!

The complete checklist is here — 22 species.

(photo of participants by Kate St. John; bird photos by Peter Bell)