Melchor Tract Park and Hollo Road Pond ~ October 17, 2024

I hit the Melchor Tract Park again hoping for something out of the usual. Once again, the section with the taller vegetation was loaded with sparrows. The majority of them were seen in the lower portion of the park, but there were birds present throughout the rest of it. I saw at least 38 Song, 12 Savannah, 12 Field, 11 Swamp, 9 White-throated, and 2 White-crowneds.

White-crowned Sparrows

Savannah Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Interspersed with the sparrows were a nice total of 18 Palm Warblers that were wagging their tails while actively feeding.

Palm Warblers

The only other warbler seen there was the expected Yellow-rumped, of which there were three.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

An immature Red-shouldered Hawk circled pretty high over the field where 5 American Pipits were seen.

A distant, immature Red-shouldered Hawk.

The croaking sound made me look up and see a Common Raven as it flew by.

Common Raven

Other birds of note included Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Goldfinch, and Red-winged Blackbird.

Later in the day, I stopped at the Hollo Road retention pond and saw the lingering Least Sandpiper there.

Least Sandpiper

The trees along the creek held an estimated 75 Red-winged Blackbirds, 4 American Robins, and 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds among around 50 European Starlings.

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