In the pond across the observatory, we saw Canada goose, mute swan, and mallard. There may have been other species but the dense line of trees in front of the pond made it difficult to see anything else. We took the short trail to the bird blind and identified Carolina wren, Carolina chickadee, yellow-rumped warbler, northern cardinal, American robin, American crow, and white-throated sparrow. The highlight was a merlin perched in a tree by our car in the parking lot. We watched it for about ten minutes. Other small birds were flying tree to tree and didn’t seem to mind its presence.
MY PHOTOS: merlin, yellow-rumped warbler
11