Gage Gardens, a light dabble

With two neighbors in tow, a leisurely stroll through the Gage Gardens this morning was a relaxing way to spend a holiday... before work and take-home finals, at least!

We moseyed as far as the benches overlooking the pond - sitting and letting the thirsty birds come to us made for very cooperative subjects. One duck was flushed from the pond upon our arrival and looked to be a female Blue-winged teal, but the checklist suggests that Cinnamon would actually be more likely - the bill did seem large but the face seemed pale. So ebird wins this round!

22 species (+2 other taxa) total

1 Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal Anas discors/cyanoptera (female/winter/backlit and flying)
1 Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
1 Merlin Falco columbarius (poor look as it darted behind trees)
1 Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
1 Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
3 White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
1 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes aurifrons
1 Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
1 Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
6 American Robin Turdus migratorius
1 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
10 Brewer's Sparrow Spizella breweri
1 Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus
25 Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys
30 White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
1 Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus
8 Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
2 meadowlark sp. Sturnella sp. (flyovers)
1 Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (scruffy looking)
12 Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
10 House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
1 American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
4 House Sparrow Passer domesticus