New avian lifer for me: Brown Creeper

Yesterday while I was out biking, I came across a trail full of Snow Geese feces - causing the tires to be caked with green, grassy fecal matter. Not that I mind it, but I have to bring my bike inside and I don't think my mother would like to know her carpet is covered with that stuff. And there are potential health issues too that I won't get into.

Anyways, I avoided that trail today, so I did not see the birds that I usually saw on that trail, e.g. Red-tailed Hawk and Great Blue Heron. However, taking another route proved to be just as exciting as that one.

First, I saw several ducks panicking in the ditches. Looking ahead, I realized that a hawk just swooped by and landed on a nearby tree. That also agitated crows in the surrounding area, causing 19 crows to hang around where the harrier was.

Unknown hawk.

Another view - trying to avoid all of the branches in between.

Then it flew away, causing several crows chasing after it. Turned out it only landed on another tree farther down the ditch.

At the edge of the Terra Nova Rural Park (where the beech and birch trees are), I came across this little brown bird landing on the lower part of the tree trunk (or branches), spiraling upwards, and probing crevices in the bark for insects. Immediately, I realized I just found a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana).

Turned out there was two individuals, and possibly more. Even though they are quite common and abundant, this was the first time that I have seen them, and it was definitely interesting to see them in-person.

Brown Creeper. My excitement caused me to take not-so-focused photos. But hey, it's the thinking that counts.

On the way home, I saw this male Northern Flicker looking for insects on the ground. It wasn't very shy, so I got this pretty close photo of it.

Then it flew into the field, where I saw another flicker was present, and it was a female (lacking the moustachial stripe). I wonder if they are a pair.

Anyways, I didn't see my usual three species (Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawk, and Great Blue Heron) today, but it was definitely exciting (if not more) to see three not-so-often seen species. Hooray for Friday, the 13th!

Sky-watch photo of the day. Rain is on the way. Sigh.
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