Tuesday Yellow Creek Outing

Tue, February 7, 2012, 8:00 am
Yellow Creek Park Office
Outing Leader: Lee Carnahan or Margaret Higbee, , 724-465-7323 or 724-354-3493

Description

Tuesday Morning Outings at Yellow Creek will continue, weather permitting. Meet at 8:00 at the park office located on Rt. 259 just off Rt. 422 east of Indiana. Everyone -- from beginner to expert birder -- is welcome. If you have questions, contact Lee Carnahan (724-465-7323) or Margaret Higbee (724-354-3493).

Trip Report

The Tuesday Yellow Creek outing started slowly with 2 Am. Crows and a lone flyover Canada Goose the only birds at the park office. A stop below the maintenance building yielded 5 Am. Black Ducks and 2 Mallards. Silence dominated with a single Blue Jay the only avian voice detected. We drove to the boat launch which was a total bust. As we entered the main recreation area, two Black-capped Chickadees and a Brown Creeper were added to the list. The three of us walked to the bridge then out to the amphitheater, then we skirted the edge of the lake all the way to the beach adding not a single bird till we reached the beach. Swimming in the water near the beach were 7 Canada Geese and 2 Am. Wigeons. In addition, we spotted a N. Flicker flying across the lawn.

We returned to our cars and drove to the parking lot nearest Observatory Trail where we heard both a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker. The woods along the trail were silent, but we were rewarded for our trek with water birds and gulls. From the observatory we spotted 2 more Am. Black Ducks, 41 additional Mallards, 43 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Canvasbacks, one Common Goldeneye, one Common Merganser, one Hooded Merganser, one Pied-billed Grebe, and 6 Ring-billed Gulls. Our total list included 18 species.

Observers: Lee Carnahan, Sue Dickson, Margaret Higbee

Submitted by Margaret Higbee

If you participated in this trip, you may add an outing report.