Go birding with us!

Join us for our next scheduled birdwalk, We will be gathering at the Wild Bird Center, with a planned carpool departure time of 8:30 am, We'll be on the trail about 90 minutes, then we'll return to the store for refreshments and a discussion of the day's sightings. Feel free to bring your camera or binoculars--we'll also bring binoculars so all can have a chance to see the beautiful birds up-close and personal. Be prepared for trails that may be uneven.

The next birdwalk will be on

Saturday January 10, 2009
Saturday January 24, 2009

On December 13, 2008 we took our Birdwalk at the Metro Beach Nature Trail. It was cold and windy but once we got on the trails we were sheltered by the trees. When we were done with the nature trail we warmed up inside the nature center and then went to the beach to see if there were any snow buntings there, And there were. We didn't see a large variety of birds but most that we saw we saw in good numbers. When we first started onto the trail we were following a small herd (7) of whitetail deer along the trail. We saw some Wild Turkey tracks as well as Coyote prints. The birds we saw this day were

Snow Buntings (50-100)
White Breasted Nuthatches (10-12)
Downie Woodpeckers (12-15)
Chickadees (50+)
Red Bellied Woodpecker (1)
Cardinals (20+)
Tree Sparrows (2)
House Sparrow (12)
Dark Eyed Junco (15+)
Gold Finch (10-12)
House Finch (4-6)
Mourning Doves (12+)
Coopers Hawks (2)


On November 8th we took our Birdwalk at the Metro Beach Nature Trail. The day started out cloudy and grey but the wet weather held off long enough for us to finish our walk. On top of the birds we were treated to some great close up looks at White Tail Deer. Including one 6 point buck who was "posing" for us on the trail about 40 yards or so ahead of us. While we were there we tried out the audubon bird call and we were able to coax several birds a little closer so we could have a better view. We saw the following birds.

American Gold Finch
Downy Woodpecker
Chickadee
Cardinal
Robin
Winter Wren
House Wren
House Finch
House Sparrow
Red Wing Blackbird
Canada Geese

On October 25th we took our Birdwalk at the Metro Beach Nature Trail. The day started out cloudy and threatening rain, but within an hour the sun was out and the woods were bright. On top of the birds we were treated to some great close up looks at White Tail Deer. We saw at least 12 deer, some that were less then 20 feet from us. We spotted the following birds

Red Bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Cardinal
Robin
European Starling
Red Wing Black Bird
White Breasted Nut Hatch
Chickadee
House Sparrows
House Finch
Mallard Duck
Canada Geese.
.

July 26th we took our Birdwalk at the Metro Beach Nature Trails. The trails were fairly quiet with very few birds singing. We did spot the following birds

Tufted Titmouse
Yellow Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Mute Swan
Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
House Wren
Cardinal
Eastern Kingbird
Canada Goose
Starling
Redwing Black Bird
House Sparrow
Tree Swallow.

July 12th was bright and warm at 8:00 am, by 10:30 it was raining cats and dogs. Luckly we were done with the Birdwalk by then. As we have done once before we did our birdwalk at 2 locations that are close to the store. Stop #1 was at the wetlands area behind the Best Buy (BB) near the Wild Bird Center Store. From there we drove to the Chesterfield Township Hall (CTH) and walked on the bike path there. We spotted the following.

Great Egret (BB)
Great Blue Heron (BB)
Spotted Sandpiper (BB)
Kildeer (BB)
Tree Swallow (BB)
Gray Catbird (BB)
Robin (BB)
Grackle (BB, CTH)
Starling (BB, CTH)
Canada Goose (BB)
Mallard Duck (BB)
Ring Billed Gull (BB)
Herring Gul (BB)
Cardinal (CTH)
Blue Jay (CTH)
Gold Finch (CTH)
Brown Headed Cow Bird (CTH)
House Sparrow (CTH)


On June 28th we went to the St John's Marsh. We made our way down the main trail that begins near the Colony Tower, right accross from Cheer's bar. It had rained quite a bit the previous day and evening, so the trail was wet in some spots but over all was easily traveled. While on our walk we spotted the following birds.

Common Yellow Throat
Marsh Wren (lots of them)
Least Fly Catcher
American Goldfinch
Tree Swallow
Mallard Duck
Song Sparrow
Red Wing Blackbird
Yellow Warbler
Robin
Barn Swallow

On June 14th we went through the nature trail at Metro Beach. In addition to the birds we were treated to an up close look at a medium sized snapping turtles. One of the naturalists was relocating the turtle from the center's front lawn to the big pond. While on our walk we observed:

Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Batlimore Oriole
Robin
Red Belly Woodpecker
Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Wren
Mute Swan ( a pair with 4 cygnets)
Red Tail Hawk
House Sparrow
Canada Goose
Grackle
Red Wing Black Bird
Tree Swallow


On May 3rd 2008 we took a different approach and did our birdwalk at 2 locations that are close to the store. Stop #1 was at the wetlands area behind the Best Buy (BB) near the Wild Bird Center Store. From there we drove to the Chesterfield Township Hall (CTH) and walked on the bike path there. We spotted the following birds

Spotted Sandpiper (BB)
Upland Sandpiper (BB)
Kildeer (BB)
Semi Palmated Plover (BB)
Tree Swallow (BB)
Robin (BB, CTH)
Yellow Warbler (CTH)
White Throated Sparrow (CTH)
White Crowned Sparrow (CTH)
Chipping Sparrow (CTH)
Cardinal (CTH)
Blue Jay (CTH)
Downy Woodpecker (CTH)
Brown Headed Cowbird (CTH)


Our birdwalk on Saturday, March 29 was dominated by Red Wing Blackbirds--hundreds of them who have returned from winter migration. They were busy calling to each other, and displaying their colors in hopes of attracting a mate. The female Great Horned Owl was seen in her nest box, but her hatchlings were too small to be seen over the top of the nest. Overall, we saw several types of birds this day:

Red Wing Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Great Horned Owl
Downy Woodpecker
Dark Eyed Junco
Black Capped Chickadee
Common Grackle
European Starling
American Robin
English/House Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Canada Goose
Brown Headed Cowbird

On Saturday, March 1, we walked the nature trail at the Chesterfield Township Hall. It was snowy and about 25 degrees, but sunny and bright. The following birds were spotted on the walk:

Northern Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Cooper's Hawk
White Breasted Nuthatch
American Tree Sparrow
Black Capped Chickadee

Saturday, February 16 was bright and cold, with a morning temperature of only 15 degrees...but that didn't deter the wildlife at the Metro Beach Nature Trail. The highlight of the birdwalk was observing a female Great Horned Owl in her nest. Along with sightings of several deer and squirrels, the following birds were sighted:

Great Horned Owl
Fox Sparrow
European Starling
Dark Eyed Junco
Cooper's Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
American Tree Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Black Capped Chickadee
White Breasted Nuthatch
House Sparrow
Brown Headed Cowbird

On Tuesday, January 15, with light snow and temperatures in the upper 20's, a mid-morning birdwalk on the Metro Beach Nature trail yielded the following sightings:

Black Capped Chickadee
Northern Cardinal (male and female)
Dark Eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Mute Swan
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Cooper's Hawk
Canada Goose
Mallard Duck
Tree Sparrow

Saturday, November 10 was a bright and crisp morning...a perfect Autumn day for being out in nature! On the morning birdwalk that day, at the Chesterfield Township Hall Nature Trail, the following birds were seen:

Common Redpoll
Dark-Eyed Junco
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Canada Goose
Blue Jay
Black-Capped Chickadee