Also along the creek were a Cooper's Hawk and a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which definitely didn't help with being able to find landbirds.
In the open section with the newest trail loop, I found a Merlin surveying the area.
So, it was a good day for raptors, but not for the smaller birds.
I left there and eventually ended up at Wy-Hit-Tuk Park. I checked for the Greater White-fronted Goose and Tundra Swan that were being reported from there. I saw the Tundra Swan just south of the park with several hundred Canada Geese, but the Greater White-fronted was not seen.
One large group of Canada Geese dropped down onto the river and joined the others. Among them was a Cackling Goose with its noticeably smaller size, shorter neck, and more narrow wingspan.
Also present on the river were 28 Mallards, 26 American Black Ducks, and 7 Common and 5 Hooded Mergansers. A pair of Mallards were nicely lit on a log in the canal with the male showing off his bright colors that are usually overlooked because it's such a common bird.
Other birds along the canal were a Common Raven, a Hairy Woodpecker, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, one of which was checking out a hole in the trunk.
I also heard some calls that sounded like pure Carolina Chickadees. I spotted two birds and got photos of one of them showing the lack of white in the greater wing coverts, the gray edges on the secondaries, a very clean-cut bib, and some gray at the rear of the white cheek by the nape.
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