Wednesday bird walk

On Wednesday, my field biology classes went on a bird walk at McAlpine Creek Park with Sally Miller of the Mecklenburg Audubon Society.


At the pond, we watched chimney swifts, dart and turn, swoop and dip.  At one point, ten or so birds were dipping in the pond in what looked like a dance over the water.  Fascinating!  We weren't sure if the birds that were dipping were swifts or bank swallows.  They were moving so fast, it was hard to tell.  We also think we may have seen a tree swallow.

In addition to the swallows, we saw a phoebe, great blue heron, belted kingfisher, red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-shafted flicker, black throated blue warbler, American crows, bluebirds, cardinals, Canada geese, mockingbirds, mallards, and robins. 

Here we are after two and a half hours of birding.  These are the kids from both my Tuesday and Friday classes and that's Sally at the back, right next to me.  What a great morning!  More field trips are in the works in the weeks ahead....