UW Birds and Waterfowl Tour

Union Bay Natural Area

Mids 60's
very little cloud cover
sunny/partially cloudy
Mid afternoon
no precipitation

The tour started with birds, and we were able to see both examples of nests and many species that make their home in the Union Bay Natural Area and the water surrounding it. We saw two types of swallow hunting together, mallards and their ducklings, american robins, hummingbirds, Canadian geese, crows and Red Wing Blackbirds, as well as a bald Eagle late in the tour. I heard song sparrows as well as seagulls and many other unidentified species as well. Most of the species on land near the campus were smaller species, but some larger species were seen farther out, too far to photograph but could be seen and identified by the group through binoculars.
The waterfowl tour went over some specific species that you could observe in the Union Bay Natural Area but were not present at the time. The ones that were present were different types of ducks and ducklings in the ponds surrounding by trees, and waterfowl far out on the bay that were barely visible. This tour was the most visually appealing, as it went over different behaviors and the specimens moved and showed different actions. This also made it harder to observe and identify the specimens, as they would not stay still and let you pick them up like plants do or let you take samples as trees and plants do.

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