[mou] Crosby, Sat./Black Dog Park today

[linda]

Yesterday's Crosby Lake walk yielded similar results to those reported 
for Friday, with some changes in the cast of characters: no buffleheads 
or grebes, but an Eastern phoebe was at the river, and an Eastern 
bluebird was in the trees between the river and the smaller lake. The 
yellow-rumped warblers had moved inland to the larger lakeshore; they 
were hunting among last year's cattails. There were still many tree 
swallows over the lake, and several hermit thrushes in the woods near 
the river. Fox sparrows were mainly on the bluff side of the lakes, 
while song sparrows were everywhere, and almost as vocal as the 
red-wings. (By the way, there's flooding in the woods on the east end, 
by the 35E bridge.)

At Black Dog Park today there were many wood ducks, but raptors were the 
show: a red-tail hawk circling, two peregrines in the box, and an osprey 
in the nest on the power apparatus in the west lake. There was also a 
great blue heron in the pond on the south side of the trail. A large 
fish breeching the surface a few times caught his attention briefly, but 
the heron abandoned it for shallower waters. Meanwhile, the trail was 
occupied continuously by a mixed flock of sparrows, some song and some tree.

On the bluff-side trail behind the playing fields (never walked here 
before--it starts behind the biffies, and continues farther west than 
there was time to explore) were some hermit thrushes. There was lots of 
activity there, so it bears checking out in the future.

Linda Whyte