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Author: Peter Kasper
Sunday, February 24
The highlights today were multiple sightings of
Rough-legged Hawks. (We even managed to get a photo of one.) Waterfowl numbers were also up, especially
Common Goldeneyes and
Common Mergansers. The first
Redheads and
Ring-necked Ducks of the year also showed up on the main injector moats. There were some early signs of Spring today in that
Northern Cardinals,
Black-capped Chickadees, and
Song Sparrows were
all heard singing. We also found two
Great Horned Owl nests
of which at least one had recently hatched chicks.
Sunday, February 17
Another weekend with bad weather for birding. It was warmer
today but rained almost continuously. With the warmer
weather the numbers of
Common Goldeneyes and
Common Mergansers were up again, as were
American Black Duck numbers. The pair of Hooded Merganers, the female
Lesser Scaup, and the pair of
Gadwalls were all to be found on the
main ring moat, but apart from a lone
American Coot on the
main injector moat there were no new arrivals.
Sunday, February 10
It was extremely cold and windy today so my birding was
limited to what I could do from the car. It worked out
pretty well however as I managed to find a couple of
Snow Buntings by the bison feeders and a
Red-breasted Nuthatch at
the nearby bird feeders.
American Robins were feeding at
berry bushes by Roads and Grounds and a very cooperative
Cooper's Hawk was perched along the north end of Kautz rd.
Friday, February 8
This morning I found a
Rough-legged Hawk perched on a dead
tree near the Eola and Batavia rd intersection. A quick tour
around the main ring at lunch time produced all the
waterfowl seen last weekend as well as a
Northern Shrike.
Sunday, February 3
As usual, we started the day at the Ed center feeders where
we picked up a
Brown Creeper and a small group of
American Crows.
Both species have become hard to find in recent years, so
this was a very good start to the day. It was made even
better when a
Cooper's Hawk swooped in from out of nowhere
and nailed a sparrow at the feeders. Its rare to witness a
successful hunt.
Despite limited amounts of open water, waterfowl numbers
were up today.
Common Mergansers were present in good
numbers and a pair of
Hooded Mergansers were on the main
ring moat along with a
Gadwall,
American Black Ducks, and
the female
Lesser Scaup.
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