February was a whirlwind of a month and we didn’t do a single Deer Run Bird Survey. Today we were able to get out for awhile and check out some of the early spring arrivals.
Sunrise at Deer Run
The weather had been in the 40s and 50s the last few days but it was only in the low 30s and most of the trails were still iced over. We didn’t get to cover much ground but we didn’t need to in order to find a lot of birds.
We added 11 new species of birds bringing our total for the survey to 42 species. Some of the highlights included flyover flocks of Wood Ducks and Common Mergansers, Eastern Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbirds, and lots of calling birds (spring is getting so close!).
Today we counted 851 individual birds and in our five surveys have found a total of 1,688 birds. It is still too early to make any sort of analysis of the area’s bird diversity and importance but it is exciting to see how the bird species have changed and look forward to migration and nesting seasons!
Kishwaukee River at Deer Run with minor flooding
I really like the pic….keep up the good work at Deer Run…I can’t wait to see what your surverys produce come the spring.
Vern – thanks, we hope to have some great data proving how important the habitat is for birds. Spring should really be exciting!