Diario de j-naturalist

The most recent highlight was a trip to John Heinz Wildlife Refuge which included a Northern Waterthrush foraging in the flooded area surrounding the Frog Pond. NOWA was a lifer for me. Also enjoyed seeing a two Brown Thrashers, on the right side of the trail leading to the bird blind.

Recent observations at the BioPond include a Brown Thrasher, Ovenbird, White-throated Sparrow, Black-and-Warbler and Fox Sparrow. On April 18th, I was photographing a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, when the Fox Sparrow landed right in front of me. I didn't recognize it at first, it because it was sort of out of context, but knew it was something pretty cool. I observed the Brown Thrasher on April 23rd. At first I thought it might be a Wood Thrush, judging by chestnut color. After getting a photo I saw the long beak and distinct yellow/orange eye. A couple of weeks ago a large flock of Cedar Waxwing moved around the BioPond at one point landing on the rocks and railing surrounding the waterfall. One observation about the BioPond is that it seems like there is an effort to manicure if more than in the past. Last year in early on May 3, I observed a Louisiana Waterthrush in some scrubby bushes - but there seems to be a lot less of this type of habitat this year.