Still here...

Our Towhee

34 degrees at 8:30 a.m. Sun out, but a little hazy.

Had a hot tip from Mary Lou that she had seen a towhee near the river inlet at the golf course. I was so excited and hoping to see it, so I headed down there first thing.

There were several juncos around the edge of the pond and as I headed to the inlet, I saw at least a dozen bright orange breasts bobbing around in the mud - the robins were having a great time poking around.

I could hear the towhees (there were at least two) and as I walked around the fenced in area, I was greeted by one of the towhees perched on a branch surveying the action. Two mallard

American Tree Sparrow

couples were swimming around as song sparrows flitted about. A pair of mourning doves were mating - seems a bit early to me! He sat for the longest time as the other towhee called. I think we can pretty safely say that they have overwintered at Nahanton. Wouldn't it be great if they ended up breeding here as well?

Back to the lower gardens where the birds were a little more active than past weeks. They're
responding just like us. A warm, sunny day makes us all went to get out, look around and socialize. Saw cardinals, robins, titmice, song sparrows, tree sparrows, goldfinches and chickadees as well as a mockingbird that's been hanging around. The blue jays were all in a dither - I wondered if a hawk was nearby, but didn't see one. A large group of seagulls flew overhead.

Hoodie

The soccer field and pond yielded some cardinals, chickadees and nuthatches.

Down by the river, I  got a quick glimpse of a male Hooded merganser. Then, I ran in to Ian. He had seen a beautiful red-bellied woodpecker in the lower gardens. We walked through the woods and saw our winter regulars including a downy woodpecker.