December 8, 2005 [LINK]

Winter ducks on Bell's Lane

It has been cold as the Dickens lately, but I happened to be passing by the Bell's Lane area around mid-day, so I decided to stop and look for birds. Not surprisingly, some of the ponds were totally iced over. No harriers or owls were present, but I did see quite a few winter ducks, some of which were for the first time this season, plus a variety of smaller birds. Today's highlights:

• Red-tailed hawks
• Savannah sparrows
• White-crowned sparrows
• Red-bellied woodpecker
• Meadowlark
• House finches
• Field sparrows
• American coots
• Redheads (FOS)
• Ruddy ducks
• Shovelers (FOS)
• Ring-necked ducks (prob.; far)
• Gadwalls (FOS)