St. Luke's Anderson Campus and Two Ponds ~ October 24, 2026

I birded the St. Luke's Anderson Campus pond and the large adjacent sunflower field this morning. The pond held an American Black Duck among 7 Mallards plus 27 Red-winged Blackbirds.

American Black Duck

Along the treeline were 81 Mourning Doves, a White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, 9 American Robins, and one Cedar Waxwing. Raptors seen were a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk, and a calling Red-shouldered Hawk.

An immature Red-shouldered Hawk.

I then walked the paths around and through the large sunflower field where I found 41 Song Sparrows, 12 Dark-eyed Juncos, 8 White-throated Sparrows, and 4 Pine Siskins among around 51 American Goldfinches.

Pine Siskins

I headed over to Green Pond where a Great Blue Heron was perched on a log. Along the paved path were a Carolina Wren, an American Goldfinch, 8 Dark-eyed Juncos, 18 Song Sparrows, 5 White-throated Sparrows, and a Swamp Sparrow with at least 28 Chipping Sparrows.

Over at the Newburg Road retention pond, I was surprised to find a Cackling Goose among around 140 Canada Geese.

A Cackling Goose in front of a Canada Goose.

Along the edge of the pond was a Pectoral Sandpiper with 9 Killdeer.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Around a hundred Fish Crows were calling while perched in a few nearby trees. They all eventually took off and were circling in a thermal before heading north.

A portion of the roughly 100 Fish Crows.

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