By Robin Irizarry, Philadelphia Watershed Coordinator
Brrr…On Saturday, December 16, TTF staff and volunteers braved the chilly weather to participate in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Our daring team hiked the hills and valleys, woods and fields of Tacony Creek Park, covering 4 miles in 4.5 hours. Despite cold weather and icy roads, we managed to enjoy ourselves as we hiked through the snow, following in the footsteps of our resident foxes and deer.
By noon we had tallied 38 different species! Highlights included one adult bald eagle (always a crowd favorite), 6 brown creepers (so tiny and well camouflaged that they’re very easy to miss) and one rusty blackbird (a new bird for our Tacony Creek Park records.) Special thanks to our volunteer counters: Martin Selzer, Pete Carter, and intern Bryan Porten-Wilson.
Check out our full count here on eBird and be sure to visit our Flickr. Enjoy the slideshow above for some lovely photos of the birds against the backdrop of a beautiful, snow covered Tacony Creek Park. It’s often hard to believe this inspiring landscape is right in the middle of our city! Thank you to our own Doryán de Angel for these breathtaking shots.
We’re in the process of scheduling our 2018 bird walk calendar — so stay tuned and plan on joining us for the Great Backyard Bird Count in February, plus more fun walks in Tacony Creek Park all year round. #DiscoverTCP!
