Yesterday, I ran 6.5 miles with Lindsay and her dad on the country roads near our house. I don't find running particularly enjoyable, but it was a nice morning, and the birds were singing, making the run much more pleasant. During our run, I tallied 30 bird species, mostly by song, but a few by sight. My list is attached below. Notable in this list are two state endangered species in Indiana: Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) and Marsh Wren (C. palustris). I heard the Sedge Wren singing from a prairie/old field area a few miles southwest of our property. The Marsh Wren was singing from a cattail marsh along the road at Potato Creek State Park.
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Brown-headed Cowbird
Oriole sp.*
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
The bird photos above were not taken on our run; we took them on our property in the last couple of weeks. From the top, they are: Rock Pigeon (Columba livea), House Wren (Troglodytes aedon), Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), and American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis).
* Not sure if this was a Baltimore Oriole (Icteris galbula) or an Orchard Oriole (I. spurius). I used to feel confident distinguishing the two by song, but lately I don't feel like I know the difference well enough... time to listen to the bird song CDs again!
