A cold but calm and sunny morning got underway in the parking lot as always. Despite standing around for almost 10 minutes, it wasn't until we were about to depart that I looked up and noticed the female COOPER'S HAWK had been staring down at us the whole time! It was a great view as she stood still, fluffed out to absorb the early morning sun.
At Wolfe's Neck, we began at the cove as always, which had a decent numbers of ducks. While diversity and overall numbers were held down dramatically by the presence of duck hunters, our tallies by the end of the walk were respectable: 150 BUFFLEHEADS, 70 CANADA GEESE, 36 AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS, 12 MALLARDS, 11 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, 10 SURF SCOTERS, 5 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, 4 HOODED MERGANSERS, 2 COMMON GOLDNEYES, and a good look at a MALLARD X AMERICAN BLACK DUCK HYBRID. A couple of COMMON LOONS were on the bay as well.
The garden/farm was actually a little more productive than expected given the late date, highlights by a pioneering SWAMP SPARROW among 5 SONG SPARROWS. A handful of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES were among the dozen or so HOUSE FINCHES, and a pair of NORTHERN CARDINALS were in the hedgerow.
Over near the death-trap Smith Center, two AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS were so far avoiding death at the unprotected glass facade, while a not-that-late-anymore TURKEY VULTURE wobbled overhead.