Karen O'Hearn ventured out to Prospect and found the sweetgums near the West Island gazebo shelter a frenzy of siskins and sparrows. Along the water edge and heavy leaf clutter she observed over twenty PINE SISKINS mixed in with seven species of sparrows. The feeding frenzy delayed her for close to two hours there, a good thing when one hopes for a good bird. I ventured over there on my late lunch hour and saw it quite active, finding though only 2 Pine Siskins. Its no surprise there with the sweetgum seed all over the place.
But a terrific highlight for me and Karen on separate occasions at that Sweetgum grove involved a juvenile RED TAILED HAWK . I was taken by surprise by a swooping Redtail that almost hugged the ground in an attempt to grab a bird , before unsuccessfully flying through the Phragmites. I assumed the same maneuver took Karen by surprise as well.
On the Lake even with the Redheads absence, a continuing ICELAND GULL still resides on the chilly waters. Karen reported the sighting.