Garth Riley lead or December Walk at Colonel Samuel Smith Park. Although it’s not our usual location for the December walk, this park can have a nice diversity of birds in December, and all through the winter. One thing we forgot to consider when choosing the location for this day, was that it was also the day of the Lakeshore Santa Claus Parade. That complicated anyone arriving late and for most people leaving the park afterward. It was a dull day, but not too cold or windy. Aside from a large flock of Greater Scaup on the lake, bird activity was surprisingly low. The Cooper’s Hawk we saw staking out a bird feeder at the beginning of the walk may have had something to do with that. We saw him at least two more times during the walk. Despite generally low numbers of birds and missing some typically common species (Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco), we still managed to find 28 species on the walk.
Here’s the complete list:
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