Weekly Report - 2016-12-16
The thermometer read 18 degrees as I stepped out of the car this morning to do my weekly Friday bird walk! The low temperatures made the walk brief and the observing not as thorough as usual. I noticed this morning that the Northern Mockingbird was not in its usual perch behind the Basswood tree on the main trail. This is the first Friday morning I haven’t seen that bird in its usual perch since October 28th and the third morning walk this school year with an absence of Northern Mockingbird. A highlight from this morning was thirteen Canada Geese that provided a low flyover of the campus. Looks like they touched down at the Francis Harvey Green School. I’d love for the geese to land on the fields at BSES so I could devote further study to them, but I’m not so sure that those who use those playing fields would be as pleased!
Aside from morning congregations of Canada Geese at Francis Harvey Green School, I do not have any local Garnet Valley notes to report. Within Delaware County, two Common Goldeneyes have been continuing at Crum Creek Reservoir in Nether Providence Township for the last six days.
Tomorrow marks the 97th Glenholden Christmas Bird Count. I will be up with the sun as I survey the birds throughout my section of the count for most of the day, something that I’ve done every year over roughly the last ten years. The first Glenholden Christmas Bird Count was in 1923, but the first-ever Christmas Bird Count was December 25th, 1900. No matter how cold and wet it will be tomorrow, it will be an honor to carry on the great tradition of citizen science first set forth by Frank Chapman over a century ago!
Here’s the list for this morning’s walk:
Bethel Springs E.S.--Nature Trail
Dec 16, 2016
7:39 AM
Traveling
0.25 miles
14 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Walk from upper staff parking lot to gas line cut and back. It was 18° - Not my favorite walk of the year!
Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.4.1 Build 113
13 Canada Goose
3 Blue Jay
1 American Crow
1 American Robin
1 European Starling
2 Dark-eyed Junco
1 White-throated Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
2 Northern Cardinal
