February bird walk at Heinz NWR

On an icy February morning last week, Penn Birding went on a bird walk at Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.

The water in the impoundment was frozen over -- no ducks to be seen.
Photo: Shereen Chang

The walk was led by Friends of Heinz volunteer Lynn Roman.
Photo: Shereen Chang

A juvenile red-tailed hawk was perched right beside the path & was very cooperative in posing for photos with us!

Juvenile red-tailed hawk
Photo: Shereen Chang

A juvenile red-tailed hawk was perched on a branch for some time. After a while, the hawk flew down and caught some prey -- it was grey & furry & long, perhaps a weasel? We were lucky enough to see the hawk eating some breakfast.

After a couple hours birding of, we returned to the warm visitor centre, where we doublechecked and discussed sightings with some more expert birders in the group, including Chuck, the hawk counter.
Photo: Shereen Chang

We saw so many different kinds of birds during the walk, including 3 kinds of woodpeckers, saw-whet owls, sparrows, juncos, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and even a brown creeper! We also caught a glimpse of the winter wren and both golden-crowned and ruby-crowned kinglets!

As we were leaving, we finally saw a red-shouldered hawk -- our fourth hawk species of the day!
Photo: Shereen Chang

It was an eventful day for birding, with some happy additions to the life list.

My checklist is posted separately.