Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership hosted another amazing bird walk in Tacony Creek Park on Saturday, March 1st. We were joined by enthusiastic neighbors and Environmental Educator, Judith Gratz, who guided us through the park on that beautiful, Saturday morning.
The tour commenced with a brief introduction on how to properly use and calibrate binoculars, followed by instructions on how to inform others on the location of a bird by using the dials of a clock as a compass. After all, you can’t expect to see much with unfocused lenses. Once preparations were complete, we began to slowly walk the park trail, listening intently and watching closely for movement in the trees.
The birds did not dissapoint us. They sang and danced and gave us quite a show. I was amazed by the variety we saw along the path. Here is a complete list of birds and wildlife that were spotted and heard that morning:
Bird inventory for Tacony Creek Park: March 1, 2014
Ring-Billed Gull, Canada Goose, Mallard, Killdeer, Turkey Vulture, Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-shafted (or Northern) Flicker, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, American Crow, Blue Jay, Starling, American Robin, Yellow Rumped Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, Cardinal, Dark-Eyed Junco, White-Throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and House Sparrow.
The grand finale was a Red-tailed Hawk soaring the sky above us while participants sipped hot cocoa and munched on donuts.
Thank you, Judith for being a marvelous guide, and sharing your knowledge and expertise. Now, I can confidently tell the difference between a downy woodpecker and a hairy woodpecker, which are very similar in color except the latter has a longer beak and is larger in size; I can distinguish between a “territorial peck” and a “foraging peck” of a woodpecker, the former being fast, consecutive “drilling” sounds while the latter is random and infrequent. And lastly, I’ll always remember to “Look Alive” as Judith would say, whenever I see a Turkey Vulture.
Ultimately, I want to thank TTF for hosting this successful event, for providing binoculars, scrumptious donuts, and delicious hot chocolate. This was an unforgettable experience! I look forward to joining you again for the next bird walk.
