Story & Photo By Vic Prislipsky, Trip Leader
Photo of Ring-necked Duck, male

Twelve HSV Audubon members participated in our Great Backyard Bird Count Field Trip on President's Day Monday.

Our count started at Lake Balboa and progressed to Lake Sophia, Lakes Maria and Isabella with a finish at Beaver Dam Trail.

We identified 42 species.

A raft of 37 Lesser Scaup bobbed on Balboa while a lone Bald Eagle sailed high overhead. A Common Loon added one bar of its haunting call, not something we often hear in the Village.

We had two Village firsts for our GBBC- tight V's of north migrating Snow Geese estimated at 150 and then the real surprise, a lone Northern Harrier (rare to uncommon in the Village) obviously in a hurry to get somewhere.

Many, many ducks continued at Lake Sophia.

One participant with a scope counted Ring-necked Ducks, 235 reported, while another counted Gadwalls, 160 reported. Somehow one lone Wigeon (uncommon) managed to crash the party.

The car temp said 78 on our way back from lunch. A pretty darn good February day in the Village.