Lincoln’s Park

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata

Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata

Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

American Wigeon Anas americana
(female-type)

American Wigeon Anas americana
(male just starting to come out of breeding plumage)

Bumblebee sp.

Swarms of tiny flies in odd chimney formations

The Sparrow Bowl

All masks, all the time

  A three-hour amble around Parc des Rapides turned up some notable avian observations. Several thick veins of Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through the treetops, seemingly in hot pursuit of tiny flies that were swarming above the treeline in bizarre chimney-like appendages. Three Blackpoll Warblers were spotted moving within these otherwise mono-specific groups. Each individual looked quite different from the other (much variation in the streaking on the underparts), each posing initial identification problems…especially with the hyper-active butterbutts (YRWA) running interference.

  In an underbrush-clogged depression feature near the parking lot (that I have dubbed ‘Sparrow Bowl’), two lovely confiding Lincoln’s Sparrows offered up excellent field mark comparisons with several nearby Song Sparrows. Other birds of note included a re-sighting of Canada Goose X6F2, close views of American Wigeons in fall plumage (never did manage to see one in Korea), and a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flying figure-eight aerobatics through the trees, perhaps in reaction to a perceived threat.

Parc des Rapides, October 6, 2020
Double-crested Cormorant-25+

Great Blue Heron-2
Canada Goose-50+ (including neck collar ‘X6F2’)
Wood Duck-12+

Mallard-8
American Wigeon-4

Red-breasted Merganser-4
Ring-billed Gull-60+

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1
Northern Flicker-1
Blue Jay-1
American Crow-2
Black-capped Chickadee-12+
White-breasted Nuthatch-2
Golden-crowned Kinglet-2
American Robin-1

Yellow-rumped Warbler-30-40
Blackpoll Warbler-3
Northern Cardinal-2
Song Sparrow-20-30 (many first-year birds hopping around the weeds)

Lincoln’s Sparrow-2
White-throated Sparrow-3