Linda and I took advantage of the wonderful weather we are having today and went for a birding walk at Hoover Meadows. Activity was fairly good with sparrows stealing the show as we tallied 7 species (8 if you throw in the few House Sparrows). Other good finds were the Red-headed Woodpeckers, Winter Wrens and Rough-legged Hawks. The latter seem to be unusually abundant for so early in the season. Yesterday we found them at Big Island along Prospect LaRue Road and today at the meadows. Many years it takes a trip to Killdeer Plains in colder weather before locating them. Our list isn't very long but we had great looks at everything we found. The one negative of the day was a domestic cat, very likely from Galena Pointe (a housing development built next to Hoover Meadows) with a fresh kill, a White-throated Sparrow. 

Birds observed:
Great Blue Heron (1)
Turkey Vulture (7)
Mallard  (65 - all but 2 at the third pond)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk  (2)
Rough-legged Hawk (3)
Mourning Dove  (9)
Red-headed Woodpecker (4)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (2)
Downy Woodpecker (3)
Northern Flicker  (5)
Blue Jay  (13)
American Crow  (15)
Carolina Chickadee  (3)
Tufted Titmouse  (4)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1)
Winter Wren (3)
Eastern Bluebird (2)
American Robin  (7)
European Starling  (100+ and happily they were only a flyover)
Cedar Waxwing  (11)
Yellow-rumped Warbler  (5)
Eastern Towhee  (3)
American Tree Sparrow  (6)
Field Sparrow  (2)
Savannah Sparrow  (3)
Fox Sparrow  (2)
Song Sparrow  (5)
Swamp Sparrow  (3)
White-throated Sparrow  (12)
Dark-eyed Junco  (9)
Northern Cardinal  (10)
American Goldfinch (15)
House Sparrow  (4)

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