Radio Controlled

Frustrated that I had missed Monday's exciting action of Eagles, Peregrines, Harriers and Goshawks I wandered over to Great Meadows,Tuesday morning hoping that maybe one or two of these may make a return visit.

The eagle was perched in the tree at the near end of the Cross Dike Trail. Unfortunately he was on the wrong side of the tree for good photos. He flushed when a walker arrived and flew down the river.



Far across the lower impoundment this harrier was cruising. At first I thought it had a radio antenna attached, but looking at the photographs more closely, I believe it is a stick. These are extreme crops, so you can reach your own conclusion.





While standing on the deck in the freezing cold (where was that sun they were predicting) with fellow observers I took a few shots to entertain myself.


This coot appears to have some cattail reed fluff frozen to his beak. Funny how coots would rather walk 1/2 across an impoundment rather than fly for 10 seconds.


Lotus pod on the ice


The eagle returned and perched in one of the pines near the maintenance barn. Later something on the ice caught his attention before flying away.

Not What I Was Looking For

Though I am sick, I ran over to Great Meadows for a quick photography visit. I hoped to confirm that the Screech Owl remained and to catch him early enough that his eyes would be fully open. Failing that, I was hoping that the Bald Eagle would come visit the Coots clustered in the open water of the impoundments. Final score - Birds:2 Larry:nil

The day wasn't a total wash out. Here's what I did encounter during my cough filled walk.


Downy Woodpecker doing serious construction


Female Bufflehead among the Canada Geese on the river


Did the refuge tile the spillway?


Lotus pods frozen in the ice. Waiting for the thaw and flooding to take it to its new home


Song Sparrow on Cattail


I made one last pass, by the "owl hole" but the owl still wasn't there. While hanging around hoping that maybe he would show, this Red-bellied Woodpecker started working on a dying tree in the background. The sun was making his red head shine.


Redbellied Woodpecker

Off The Market

Based upon Cherrie's report of a Bald Eagle enjoying Coot Tartare for lunch at Great Meadows yesterday, I wandered over to the refuge to see if I could catch it in action. When I arrived, I ran into Will who told me that the eagle had visited the refuge very early this morning.

The refuge was almost totally frozen over, with little obvious animal activity. Thankfully, Will reported that we had a new visitor in the neighborhood. During the Christmas Bird Count, we heard a Screech Owl. During today's census, Will noticed that one had moved back into the hole vacated by the last Screech Owl.






It's a Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl. I did have a little difficulty finding it. I wasn't expecting it to be filling the whole hole! I'll have to try again earlier in the day to catch it with its eyes open.

I continued around the impoundments all the way to Borden's Pond. There really wasn't much activity, a couple of Chickadees, the Canada Geese in the field across the river, a couple of Downy Woodpeckers, and two pairs of Mallards floating with the current.

On the way back to the car, I stopped to enjoy the Coots waling and slipping on the ice, as they foraged for vegetation and congregrated at the few spots of open water.








Of course our strange winter weather is forecast to continue. This weekend there will be a warming trend, providing more water for the coots, encouraging them to the remain for a while longer. I guess that's okay.