4/12/26
birds
took a stroll down to Adams National Historical Park, which eBird lists as a hotspot. it said there were 17 species likely today... and i barely managed three. there were a ton of robins on the ground, mostly adult males but one very distinctly juvenile male (and a couple of them were probably teenagers, their breasts were just a bit spotty around the edges), and i did manage to get a close-up through binoculars of one finding a worm, which was pretty cool. i saw one (1) starling hanging out with the robins. there was a blue jay on a treetop at just about the limit of my vision, even with binoculars i could barely make it out, but the call was distinct enough to count. i also heard a lot of tufted titmouse calls, but couldn't see them, alas, as that would have been a lifer. i thought i saw something with a red face, probably a house finch, but it was before i'd actually set up and started my eBird checklist so i didn't count it. Merlin said it heard a few more, including an osprey (!) but they were all so sporadic and since i wasn't able to pick out their calls i didn't count any of them either.
honestly, i probably would have seen more species if i'd just camped out on the back porch, but the park was lovely and i'm glad i got to stretch my legs a bit.