Group photo by Ruth Shelly
The drizzle stopped just in time for 16 birders to gather at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area. The variety of habitats resulted in a diversity of birds. Molting Mallards dabbled alongside gulls, herons, and egrets in the estuary; flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Ruby-crowned Kinglets took refuge in cone-laden pines, and a Harrier Hawk cruised over the meadow. Our birders were tantalized by myriad mushrooms on the forest floor, and a Steller's Jay scolded us for sampling the huckleberries. Fall and feathers were in the air!
Sightings of the day:
Birders on trail, photo by Tom Rice
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, photo by Ruth Shelly
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Western Gull
Mallard
Ring-billed Gull
Great Egret
American Crow
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Western Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Barn Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird
Steller's Jay
Cedar Waxwing
Whimbrel
Bewick’s Wren
Spotted Towhee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pacific Wren
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
Ruby-crowned Kinglet