Go birding with us!

Join us for our next scheduled birdwalk, We will be gathering at the Wild Bird Center, with a planned carpool departure time of 8:00 am, We'll be on the trail about 90 minutes, then we'll return to the store for refreshments and a discussion of the day's sightings. Feel free to bring your camera or binoculars--we'll also bring binoculars so all can have a chance to see the beautiful birds up-close and personal. Be prepared for trails that may be uneven.

The next birdwalk will be on

Saturday, October 11th
Saturday October 25th
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July 26th we took our Birdwalk at the Metro Beach Nature Trails. The trails were fairly quiet with very few birds singing. We did spot the following birds

Tufted Titmouse
Yellow Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Mute Swan
Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
House Wren
Cardinal
Eastern Kingbird
Canada Goose
Starling
Redwing Black Bird
House Sparrow
Tree Swallow.

July 12th was bright and warm at 8:00 am, by 10:30 it was raining cats and dogs. Luckly we were done with the Birdwalk by then. As we have done once before we did our birdwalk at 2 locations that are close to the store. Stop #1 was at the wetlands area behind the Best Buy (BB) near the Wild Bird Center Store. From there we drove to the Chesterfield Township Hall (CTH) and walked on the bike path there. We spotted the following.

Great Egret (BB)
Great Blue Heron (BB)
Spotted Sandpiper (BB)
Kildeer (BB)
Tree Swallow (BB)
Gray Catbird (BB)
Robin (BB)
Grackle (BB, CTH)
Starling (BB, CTH)
Canada Goose (BB)
Mallard Duck (BB)
Ring Billed Gull (BB)
Herring Gul (BB)
Cardinal (CTH)
Blue Jay (CTH)
Gold Finch (CTH)
Brown Headed Cow Bird (CTH)
House Sparrow (CTH)


On June 28th we went to the St John's Marsh. We made our way down the main trail that begins near the Colony Tower, right accross from Cheer's bar. It had rained quite a bit the previous day and evening, so the trail was wet in some spots but over all was easily traveled. While on our walk we spotted the following birds.

Common Yellow Throat
Marsh Wren (lots of them)
Least Fly Catcher
American Goldfinch
Tree Swallow
Mallard Duck
Song Sparrow
Red Wing Blackbird
Yellow Warbler
Robin
Barn Swallow

On June 14th we went through the nature trail at Metro Beach. In addition to the birds we were treated to an up close look at a medium sized snapping turtles. One of the naturalists was relocating the turtle from the center's front lawn to the big pond. While on our walk we observed:

Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Batlimore Oriole
Robin
Red Belly Woodpecker
Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Wren
Mute Swan ( a pair with 4 cygnets)
Red Tail Hawk
House Sparrow
Canada Goose
Grackle
Red Wing Black Bird
Tree Swallow


On May 3rd 2008 we took a different approach and did our birdwalk at 2 locations that are close to the store. Stop #1 was at the wetlands area behind the Best Buy (BB) near the Wild Bird Center Store. From there we drove to the Chesterfield Township Hall (CTH) and walked on the bike path there. We spotted the following birds

Spotted Sandpiper (BB)
Upland Sandpiper (BB)
Kildeer (BB)
Semi Palmated Plover (BB)
Tree Swallow (BB)
Robin (BB, CTH)
Yellow Warbler (CTH)
White Throated Sparrow (CTH)
White Crowned Sparrow (CTH)
Chipping Sparrow (CTH)
Cardinal (CTH)
Blue Jay (CTH)
Downy Woodpecker (CTH)
Brown Headed Cowbird (CTH)


Our birdwalk on Saturday, March 29 was dominated by Red Wing Blackbirds--hundreds of them who have returned from winter migration. They were busy calling to each other, and displaying their colors in hopes of attracting a mate. The female Great Horned Owl was seen in her nest box, but her hatchlings were too small to be seen over the top of the nest. Overall, we saw several types of birds this day:

Red Wing Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Great Horned Owl
Downy Woodpecker
Dark Eyed Junco
Black Capped Chickadee
Common Grackle
European Starling
American Robin
English/House Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Canada Goose
Brown Headed Cowbird

On Saturday, March 1, we walked the nature trail at the Chesterfield Township Hall. It was snowy and about 25 degrees, but sunny and bright. The following birds were spotted on the walk:

Northern Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Cooper's Hawk
White Breasted Nuthatch
American Tree Sparrow
Black Capped Chickadee

Saturday, February 16 was bright and cold, with a morning temperature of only 15 degrees...but that didn't deter the wildlife at the Metro Beach Nature Trail. The highlight of the birdwalk was observing a female Great Horned Owl in her nest. Along with sightings of several deer and squirrels, the following birds were sighted:

Great Horned Owl
Fox Sparrow
European Starling
Dark Eyed Junco
Cooper's Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
American Tree Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Black Capped Chickadee
White Breasted Nuthatch
House Sparrow
Brown Headed Cowbird

On Tuesday, January 15, with light snow and temperatures in the upper 20's, a mid-morning birdwalk on the Metro Beach Nature trail yielded the following sightings:

Black Capped Chickadee
Northern Cardinal (male and female)
Dark Eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Mute Swan
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Cooper's Hawk
Canada Goose
Mallard Duck
Tree Sparrow

Saturday, November 10 was a bright and crisp morning...a perfect Autumn day for being out in nature! On the morning birdwalk that day, at the Chesterfield Township Hall Nature Trail, the following birds were seen:

Common Redpoll
Dark-Eyed Junco
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
Eastern Kingbird
Canada Goose
Blue Jay
Black-Capped Chickadee