Thursday's Bird Watch!

 In taking a short bird walk here at Dallas Retirement Village on Sunday June 29th, Jeanett and I noticed some American Crows making a lot of noise.  I have learned over the years that when crows are making a fuss about something it's a good idea to take a closer look at what is going on. That is when we found this Cooper's Hawk seeking sanctuary in a small tree outside the Village Apartments. The American Crows had good reason to be concerned with the Cooper's Hawk because Cooper's Hawks main diet is other birds! The next time you hear some crows making a big commotion, take a closer look, you might be in for a surprise. 

Mt. Fir Park

Jeanette on the path along the South Fork of Ash Creek

On the 4th of July, Jeanette and I ventured out to Mt. Fir Park in Independence for a bird walk. For the previous couple of days, I had been taking short walks without the aid of my walker. Mt Fir Park provided the opportunity to go birding on a path along the creek that had not been practicable to use with my walker. It was great to have a fresh sense of freedom as we worked our way along the path beside the South Fork of Ash Creek.

It seemed to be our lucky day for birds. There were an unusually high number of birds along the creek, and then we realized that they were newly fledged Barn Swallows. The same thing for Violet-green Swallows, Black-capped Chickadees, and Bushtits.  All four had just recently fledged, and the young birds were trying to figure out how to navigate the brushy habitat of the creek. Here is our eBird checklist.

Barn Swallow fledgling