26 March 2023
This morning it was brilliantly sunny and becoming warmer as 15 of us walked at Duck Hollow.
Because of recent rain, especially in West Virginia, the river was running high though not quite as high as I found it during yesterday’s gloomy, rainy, windy weather (below).
High water cut down on the number of waterfowl so we were happy to find a common merganser and pied-billed grebe. Best Mammal was a muskrat swimming up Nine Mile Run.
Today’s checklist is here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S131891621 and below.
Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Mar 26, 2023 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.4 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Also 1 muskrat, 1 rabbit, 1 squirrel
23 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 1 Female
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 2
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 5
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4 One pair courting. One pair with occupied nest under the bridge.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 3
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 4
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 30
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 8
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 6
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 10
My next outing will be in Schenley Park on Sunday 30 April at 8:30am. Stay tuned.
(photos by Kate St. John)