Northern Harrier.
Photo by Gerco Hoogeweg

Eighteen super hardy birders birded with gusty winds and 20 degree temperatures for our monthly walk at Bles Park on November 20.  The wind kept many of the birds in hiding, but we still found 30 species of birds.  The walk was led by Bryan Henson with assistance from Scott Harris and Gerco Hoogeweg. Highlights of the walk were a very visible Winter Wren, some Brown Creepers and a cooperative Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  The expected species diversity of waterfowl wasn’t found;  we only found a handful of Mallards.  A Red-shouldered Hawk favored us with good looks as it fought to fly upstream in the strong wind.  At the end of the walk, a Northern Harrier surprised us with a last minute parking lot sighting.