Pelican and Evening Grosbeaks at Bennington Lake

There was a single American white pelican on the lake when we arrived for our Tuesday walk.  Soon it was joined by a ring-billed gull and several canada geese.  The only other birds on the water were three common mergansers, a female common goldeneye and a great blue heron.  The little birds were pretty quiet with the exception of a singing Bewick's wren that was perched on top of a shrub.  We saw numerous dark eyed juncos and white-crowned sparrows, several black capped chickadees, Townsend's solitaires, ruby-crowned kinglets, downy woodpeckers and two great horned owls along the trail.  However, the best surprise was seeing a flock of about 50 evening grosbeaks fly into a pine tree above the parking lot as we were returning to our cars.  The sunshine was a welcome change and although it made the trails pretty mucky, it was nice being outside.