It was another cool, crisp, and clear morning. I did a 2-1/2 hour hike here in Old Trail, and ended up with 33 avian species, including 2 warbler species, and 7 sparrow species. I started off along Slabtown Branch Creek where I had seen the Nashville Warbler yesterday, but it was still fairly shaded and not very "birdy." I then headed up to the trail along the golf course pond and golf fairway #1. There were quite a few Cedar Waxwings and a lot of sparrows. Noticeably missing were the Yellow-rumped Warblers I saw there yesterday. One of the sparrows was the dullest plumage Swamp Sparrow I have ever seen.
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Pine Siskin
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
There were several Savannah Sparrows with different amounts of facial yellow coloring, and one with chevrons on it breast instead of the ususal blobby streaks.
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
I headed over to the trail along the wetlands in Western Park, and saw two warbler species.
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Our nutty, juvenile Great Blue Heron was "fishing" in the tall grasses along the trail again. It didn't mind my being there, and at one point I was less than 10 feet away from it when I walked by it on the trail.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
And I got one of my "you don't see this every day" set of photos. There's an short, eroded, gravel trail going down into the wetlands near the Lodge. I hiked down there to look for sparrows. As soon as I got to the bottom, I saw a young deer, and the deer saw me and froze. An Eastern Phoebe flew in, and landed on its back. The Phoebe moved around on the back of the deer, but it stayed motionless to try to hide from me. A few minutes later, it (and the Phoebe) took off.
Deer and Eastern Phoebe
Deer and Eastern Phoebe