I took a quick hike through the ravines area of Highbanks park (as well as nearby Seymour Nature Preserve), both to admire the ice formations and look for birds.  While there were no unexpected species, there were a surprising number of Carolina Wrens & Tufted Titmice.  With a lot of snow & ice on the ground, I was puzzled why these birds were so common, so I tracked a few of them.   Almost invariably, they would spend some time picking through the leaf litter along the south faces of these ravines, where the snow & ice had slumped or melted away to expose large sections of leaf-covered ground.  I also saw Robins, Jays, woodpeckers, & even a Winter Wren doing the same thing, so these ravines offer some snow-less surface in which these birds can forage.

The other reason to visit Highbanks in winter is to check the battery of feeders at the Nature Center.  It was thronging with birds today, but I didn't notice much unusual, outside of a few Tree Sparrows


Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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