Greetings, everyone!

On Saturday, September 20th, 19 birders met at 7:30 a.m. at Live Oak County Park. The weather was quite nice at the beginning of the day, although it slowly warmed up as the morning progressed. At Live Oak, we observed 31 species. Highlights included Band-tailed Pigeons, Acorn Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Western Bluebirds. We had a Swainson’s Thrush, which was exciting, but our thrush was not as excited to see us, so we only had a few glimpses.

Around 9:30 a.m., we packed up and made our way to Los Jilgueros Preserve. I was told that “Los Jilgueros” means “goldfinch” in Spanish, which makes sense because we heard plenty of Goldfinches throughout our walk! We observed 36 species at the preserve, including several aquatic birds such as Mallards, a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Belted Kingfisher, and a Pied-billed Grebe. Toward the end of the walk, the weather started to warm up, but we all had a great time exploring the preserve and enjoying the birds.

This was my first time leading the group, so thank you all for your patience and for making the experience so enjoyable. I had a great time and look forward to leading more field trips in the future!

Cheers,

Mac

Live Oak County Park: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394766539

Los Jilgueros Preserve: https://ebird.org/checklist/S394766636