Valentine's Day Birding

This morning after making breakfast, I decided to make a scouting trip to my favorite birding location: Middle Creek Wildlife Area. The weather has been bitterly cold - it was 2 degrees F at my home at 8am and warmed to 12 degrees by the time I arrived at MCWA.

As I expected, all the ponds and lakes where frozen solid and there was hardly any bird species to be seen. The first photo below shows the main lake area looking E toward the Eagle nest (I could not locate either eagle today). As you can see not much going on and no open water to be seen.

  

This is photo looking NE from the dam spillway...not that there aren't even any ice fishermen out today.

I then decided to check out one of my favorite trails in MCWA - Willow Point...but as can been seen it also pretty much snow covered and icy..so I decided not to attempt it until another day.

I ended the trip with only 6 species: Song Sparrow, Amer Crow, Bluebird. Downy Woodpecker, Canada Goose and 1 Red Tail Hawk.

The day was not a total loss: in the afternoon when temps moved to 16 degrees - five of us from the Quittapphilla Audubon Society walked the trails in and around Union Canal Park in Lebanon and ended the 2 hr trip with 24 species...including a Coopers Hawk and Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.

The sunny skies, and being correctly dressed plus the total lack of any wind made the walk pleasant..if I darn say comfortable.....and the company was good.

Union Canal in Lebanon Pa...where we did the GBBC walk
 

Another view of theUnion Canal....Note the hockey players.

Not all that wander are lost.