Hartford County (2/15)

My Dad came down to visit with us on the 15th and he and I decided to spend the morning hiking. We started at the Laurel Marsh Trail in Manchester. The bird activity was a bit reserved but we did spot a couple of Northern Mockingbirds on our walk. We made it about 1/4 of the way around the loop before stopping and heading back. On our return trip we spotted a nice Red-tailed Hawk and tracked it as it flew from perch to perch.

From there we continued on to Maj. Michael Donnolly park in South Windsor. Again there wasn't many birds (we were rushing the season a bit) but we had a couple of nice sitings. I found a bird perch high on a tree and after trudging thru the brush for a better view, was able to identify it as a Northern Flicker. From the observation platform we spied a Cooper's Hawk fly quickly into the woods and also heard a Red-winged Blackbird (our first of the season) as it flew by.