Fellow birder Christina Birdsong and I went to the botanical gardens this
morning for a short walk and saw a spunky sharp shinned hawk chasing a crow
that continued to harass it. Over and over the crow would do a flyby and the
hawk responded by chasing the crow off.
9 male and 1 female ring necked duck were on the lake close to the entrance
gate. The female had a large white eye ring, much more significant than in the
guides, so much so that Christina suggested it might be a female wood duck.
The white stripe on the bill confirmed it was a ring necked.
We heard a woodpecker tapping and quickly found a red bellied but were
delighted to see a pileated fly in and hop into a nest cavity near it. (Maybe
the red bellied got too close). We wondered if it was excavating in preparation
for nesting or using it as a winter roost. Too many people in the area spooked
it so we were not able to determine its use. We will keep an eye on it and
report back if its excavating.
Green winged teals and shovelers continue during low tide at Lakewood Park,
Norfolk.
Pat Scanlon
Norfolk
Sent from my iPad
