October 2, 2023, Nestbox Cleaning at Rumsey and Rowley Linear Parks by Gail Hachey
The day started out gray with low-lying fog but quickly cleared up to a sunny day with 8º to13ºC and a slight wind. Lunch was had at Rowleywood Park.
Many Tree Swallow nests had dead babies, which was very sad.
One stick nest had a live mouse in it. It had its bum and legs sticking out, and when I touched it, its tail moved deeper into the nest, so we spared its home.
We saw about 14 species of birds and some waterfowl. Our highlight bird species were Gray Partridge, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, and American Kestrel, just to name a few.
We also had an "unknown" bird that we struggled to identify. The bird was walking away from us, neck stretched out, beautiful back plumage, later identified with photographs taken by Claudia as a Western Meadowlark. Mystery solved!
What a marvellous day we had.