I walked around Aleck Keck Park Memorial Garden this morning. I parked on Arrellaga Street and entered the park through the opening in the wrought iron fence. The first bird I heard was a singing White-throated Sparrow. It took a few minutes to see it, but eventually it popped out from one of the blooming Marguerites and flew into another. As usual, it was with a flock of White-crowns. I have found a White-throat at this approximate spot for at least three winters.
The rest of the park was pretty quiet birdwise. The park has been undergoing some major re-landscaping and re-routing of paths to make it more accessible. While there are new plantings going in, there are also several bare areas and now doubt this has influenced the population of ground-dwelling birds. Along the Arrellaga Fence, the large planting of Giant Echiums has been reduced and new ones have not been replanted yet, but the remaining Echiums are just starting to bloom. When in full bloom this area can be a good spot for a variety of Hummingbirds.
And worth a visit to the park for this alone: A very large Orchid Tree in the northeast section of the grounds is in full, glorious bloom.
Florence Sanchez
