Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk April 20, 2024

Six hardy birders were out to Maskepetoon Park April 20, 2024 for a cool and blustery morning outing. Despite best efforts, our score was a modest 15 species. Surprisingly, some common woodpeckers, nuthatches, gulls, and even some waterfowl were simply not to be found.  

Best sighting for the day was an Accipiter that flew into the canopy near the trail and gave us some time in view for a raptor ID challenge. I’ve settled on Cooper’s Hawk based on first impressions and the photos I have. See the photos on eBird and let me know if you see something else.

Chris Olsen

Here is the eBird report:

Red Deer--Maskepetoon Park, Red Deer, Alberta, CA
20-Apr-2024 9:55 AM - 12:48 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.132 kilometer(s)
Checklist Comments:     Red Dee River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group outing
15 species
6 Participants
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  12
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  7
American Coot (Fulica americana)  2
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  14
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  5
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  16
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  2
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S169534421