I got up early this morning and headed out to Redberry Lake to walk their nature trail and see what birds I could find.

Here’s the map of the hiking trail I followed. Doesn’t look too bad. It says it’s 3.4 km round trip.

Here’s a picture to give you a better idea of the distance. The left arrow is the boat dock and the right arrow is the beginning of the trail. (One thing – if you are going to hike this trail, make sure you have waterproof hikers on, because there are a few wet spots along the trail.)

The first thing I saw when I got out of my car was this cutie:

Snowshoe Hare

Next I saw a new bird for me, an Alder Flycatcher. I was glad I had my digital recorder along, because its voice helped me identify what it was. The picture’s not great.

Alder Flycatcher

Next I saw a sparrow. Sparrows are tricky for me, so I’ll just say that I’m pretty sure this is a Song Sparrow, which I’m happy to say was also a new one for me. (But don’t hesitate to steer me in the right direction if you think I’m wrong.)

Song Sparrow (I think)

I saw a Gray Catbird and an American Goldfinch, but their pictures didn’t turn out any better than the ones I already had.

At the boat dock, I saw some Red-necked Grebes. Another new bird for my list.

Red-necked Grebes

All of a sudden I heard this “whoosh whoosh” overhead. I looked up to see a group of American White Pelicans. As usual, by the time I got my camera up, they were aways away, but I still like this picture.

American White Pelicans in (almost) perfect formation

Another new bird for me was the White-winged Scoter. Not a great picture, but recognizable anyway.

White-winged Scoter

I also got a new butterfly for my list – a Great Spangled Fritillary. Isn’t that a great name? They must be tasty, too, because this one’s missing part of its right wing.

Great Spangled Fritillary

You’ve heard of a two-fer? Well, I got a four-fer today. Two Cedar Waxwings and a male and female American Goldfinch were all perched in the same tree.

The Goldfinches eventually flew away as I got closer, but the Waxwings just stayed right where they were, even as the trail went right beside the tree they were in!

So, four new birds, a new butterfly and as you can see, the clouds did go away. All in all, a great morning.