First Hills Creek Spring Bird Walk Results

April 7, 8:00 AM,  Hills Creek State Park. It was a very cold morning for our first spring bird walk at Hills Creek State Park -- 19 degrees and a bitter north wind -- but we were pleasantly surprised by the many birds we were able to see -- 31 species in all. Waterfowl, in particular, gave a good showing. We saw two common loons, several red-breasted and hooded mergansers, a half dozen ring-necked ducks, many buffleheads and lesser scaups, horned and pied-billed grebes, and some double-crested cormorants. A bald eagle made a nice, low flyover, later followed by a red-shouldered hawk. The first belted kingfisher of the year also flew by, and a pair of ospreys were also present. They are apparently setting up housekeeping on the platform by the dam -- first time that we have had a sincere nesting effort there since 2010.There were not a lot of land birds, but we did see some robins, bluebirds, song sparrows, cardinals and juncos.

Next walk will be April 14, 8:00 AM. Everyone is welcome to participate, and there are no fees. Meet at the park office.

Eastern Phoebe by Sean Minnick

                                                     

Nesting Ospreys at Hills Creek State Park by Sean Minnick