Squelching the Stir-Crazys

Yet another snow day due to icy road conditions. With the amount of black ice I saw this morning, I decided to not ride and instead took a couple different walks to keep myself occupied.

The first was some mid-day walking and birding. I started at Caperton Swamp, my favorite spot (along with Loop Island). Things seemed quiet at first but over time picked up, especially I approached the meadow which gets so much action in the summer:

Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker (male and female)
White breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
A.Robin
Dark-eyed Junco
Turkey Vulture
Song Sparrow
*other sparrows
*damned raptor I didn't ID. I had a good look and just didn't get enough info. Brown and striped like all the others this time of year. Probably not a red-tail, though
Surf Scoter (across from C.S. in Ohio)
White-winged Scoter ((across from C.S. in Ohio)

I moved on to roam around Thurmin-Hutchins Park a bit but other than some C. Geese and 2 Mallard Ducks there wasn't much going, so I moved on down to the EvaBandman Cyclocross Park. As is often the case, there are usually some interesting things happening down at the confluence of Beargrass Creek and the river:

American Coot
Common Merganser** a first for me
C.Geese
Double-breasted Coromorant
Bufflehead
Ring-necked Duck** another first
Killdeer- one hanging out next to the road as I left

I headed over to S.Indiana to see if I could find the long-tailed ducks folks have been writing about, but to no avail. I saw more Buffleheads and some Mallards. Oh well. I'll live.  Once I returned home I eventually headed back out for a 4-mile walk behind the zoo and through Joe Creason. Now I'm home, ready for some supper, and will probably sleep soundly after a day well-spent taking in the sunshine (albeit temps that barely topped freezing).

Hopefully work tomorrow