Wise and Wonderful Great Horned Owls
Great Horned Owls are surprisingly hard to find given that they are so large. Their camouflage and silent flights in the twilight keep them hidden.
Birds
Charming American Goldfinches
American Goldfinches are charming birds that resemble canaries. Males are bright yellow with black caps and black wings making them easy to spot.
American Robins
American Robins have dark heads, wings and tail and brick red breasts. They are more comfortable with people than some other birds and sing from early morning to after sunset which allows them to be more well-known than other birds.
Red-winged Blackbirds
Red-winged Blackbirds are known as marsh birds, and that is where you will find them in the Willow Spring Open Space. If you look among the willows and cattails, you can see and hear their large numbers.
American Kestrels
American Kestrels are small falcons. The males have a rusty back and blue-gray wings and can often be seen on fence posts or hovering in the air over their prey.
Mallards
Mallards are ducks which frequently are seen in pairs. That’s helpful, because the female is easily confused with other ducks, but the male has a bright metallic green head and neck.
Red-tailed Hawks
If you see a large bird soaring above the Willow Spring Open Space, chances are good that it is a Red-tailed Hawk. As it turns, you may be able to notice the rust colored tail that the name describes.
American Crows
American Crows are large black birds that travel in flocks called a “murder” of crows. Their distinctive “caw caw” sometimes announces them before they are seen.
Black-billed Magpies
Black-billed Magpies are large birds that are easily recognized by their striking black and white colors along with their long tails.
Black-capped Chickadees
Black-capped Chickadees are small, cute, active birds that visit bird feeders in the neighborhood and also forage in thickets and low branches of trees.