One Ravine Trail Solved Two Birding Problems

Sometimes weather conditions can make birding a less pleasant experience, or I don't have enough time to make the trip seem worthwhile. 

On this particular day, I had both problems. It was too windy and I only had an hour to spare. I decided to go to a nearby ravine trail that follows a small trickle of a stream. This turned out to be the right move because the high tree-lined banks on both sides of the trail offered good protection from the wind making things much more comfortable. The trail is only probably only about 150 yards long, so an hour was plenty of time to cover the entire trail. 

 I moved as slowly as possible so I could pick out birds that I might normally miss. I felt like a kid trying to dig coins from under the couch cushions. At first, you only see a few but if you dig deep enough you might end up with $3.00 worth of change! So I only saw a few birds at first, but by the time I had finished my list grew to 14. Not bad for a small wooded area in the middle of winter!There was nice acoustics with the sound of the trickling stream, and time just seemed to slow down. I had a nice look at this White-throated Sparrow but I was hoping to find that one special bird. Nothing rare, just that little prize like you find in the bottom of a box of Cracker Jacks. I finally did find my prize bird. It was a little Winter Wren sneaking around underneath the stream bank. My first of the year. Sometimes the best birding experiences are the most simple ones.