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Author: Peter Kasper
Wednesday, February 29
Peter had several new arrivals on Main Ring Lake today including
Greater White-fronted Goose,
Canvasback, and
Red-breasted Merganser.
Also, in this same area were two
Bald Eagles. In addition, new for
the year were two
Greater Scaup on Casey's Pond. Dave
Sunday, February 26
Today's strong winds made waterfowl and field birds our major
targets. The field birds were dominated by many
Horned Larks and
several
Red-winged Blackbirds in the North Roads area. The surprise
in this area was a lone
Savannah Sparrow which is about a month
ahead of its typical first arrival date. These were followed by a
lone
Eastern Meadowlark in the area of the Main Injector Ring. We did much better with the waterfowl though the non-winter birds are
still just trickling in. The new arrivals were a pair of
Redheads and several
Buffleheads in Casey's Pond and several
Northern Pintails and
Northern Shovelers in Main Ring Lake. Some of the other
waterfowl
were
Cackling Goose,
Gadwall,
Ring-necked Duck,
Common Goldeneye,
Common Merganser, and
Hooded Merganser. A
Bald Eagle was again
spotted flying over Main Ring Lake then landing on the ice.
American Robins and
Eastern Bluebirds were also seen on the west side of the
Lab. Later, on the way through the Lab Peter added a
Snow Goose (blue)and about a dozen
Greater White-fronted Geese on Main Ring Lake. Dave
Saturday, February 25
Denis spotted a
Short-eared Owl around 4:00 this afternoon flying
along the Main Ring Berm. Dave
Wednesday, February 22
Most locations of the Lab were fairly quiet this morning. The major
exception was the large flock of blackbirds along East Wilson Road.
The makeup was mostly male
Red-winged Blackbirds with several
females mixed in. Also in the flock were several
Common Grackles and
Brown-headed Cowbirds; both new birds for the year. Another new bird
for the year was a
Killdeer herd flying over Lake Logo. This tied
for the earliest sighting for this species. Not too much variety
with the waterfowl today with
American Black Ducks, an
American Wigeon, and
Common Mergansers in just about any area with open
water. The
American Coots have been in the Main Injector Moat for
six weeks now. A
Bald Eagle was seen picking at a fish on the small
amount of ice remaining on Main Ring Lake. It then flew to a tall
dead tree about 100 yards away and was still there more than an hour
later. The
Great Horned Owl was still on her nest. Some of the other
highlights were
Great Blue Heron,
Northern Harrier,
Long-eared Owl,
Hairy Woodpecker,
Horned Lark,
Blue Jay,
American Crow (oddly seen
in three different locations), and
Song Sparrow. Dave
Sunday, February 19
First of all Peter said he had seen
Sandhill Cranes flying over the
Lab during the past week. This equals the earliest sighting of the
year from over ten years ago, typically the earliest sighting of the
year is in the first week of March. We started this morning's
birding in the Sparrow Hedge area with a good deal of song in the
air. The majority of the singing was from
Black-capped Chickadees,
Northern Cardinals and
Red-winged Blackbirds. Other birds of note in
the area were
Common Mergansers, a
Hooded Merganser, a
Northern Shrike,
American Crows,
Blue Jays, and a
Fox Sparrow. Also a rabbit
was seen along the trail; the first I have seen in the Lab for quite
awhile. The Big Woods was also quite active with woodpeckers,
nuthatches and chickadees. Some of the interesting sightings in the
Ring Area were
American Black Duck,
American Wigeon,
Common Goldeneye,
Common Merganser,
Northern Harrier,
American Kestrel,
American Coots and
Eastern Bluebirds. Denis' group had many of the
same birds in addition to a couple of
Ring-necked Ducks and a
Cooper's Hawk. Surprisingly,
Cooper's Hawks have been hard to come
by at the Lab early this year, this being only the second sighting
for the year. Finally, a couple of
Bald Eagles were reported in the
Nepese marsh area later in the day. Dave
Wednesday, February 15
It was a very quiet afternoon of birding today at the Lab, but
things picked up as the daylight diminished. Some of the birds seen
were a pair of
Hooded Mergansers, a
Great Blue Heron, several
American Coots still in the Main Injector Moat, a
Hairy Woodpecker,
Eastern Bluebirds, and a
Red-winged Blackbird. As darkness
approached hundreds of
Common Goldeneyes and
Common Mergansers filled the open patch of water in Main Ring Lake. The
Great Horned Owl nest was still occupied with the male guarding about 20 yards
away. A pair of
Northern Harriers were again hunting the South Eola Road area. The male called when a flushed
Great Horned Owl flew near
its immediate hunting territory. Later, just before dark I watched
as the harrier mobbed the owl now in a small stand of trees. The harrier flew through the trees a couple of times and as it flew off
a
Short-eared Owl called and then took over the mobbing activity.
The
Short-eared Owl took two passes at the
Great Horned Owl then
flew high and off to a hunting area somewhere to the west. An
Eastern Screech-Owl was contacted as the rain started to fall and in
Kautz Road Woods a pair of
Great Horned Owls responded with hoots
and barks. Dave
Sunday, February 12
Wind was the main deterrent for this morning's birding but there
were still some interesting sightings. Again there were slim numbers
of interesting waterfowl including an American Widgeon, several
Ring-necked Ducks,
Common Goldeneyes and
Common Mergansers.
Fox Sparrows were still at the eastern edge of the Sparrow Hedge,
Horned Larks were still in the north roads area, and a
Great Blue Heron was
on the Swan Lake shoreline.
Eastern Bluebirds were seen working some
tree cavities along West Wilson Rd. Pine trees seemed to be the
place to catch some rays this morning. A
Red-tailed Hawk and
Great Horned Owl were found on the south side of a couple of pines, out of
the wind, in two separate locations. Seen from a distance, Denis and
his class chased down and confirmed a
Rough-legged Hawk just north
of the buffalo feeders. Denis also found a
Long-eared Owl and
Northern Shrike inside the Main Ring. Lastly, the only new year
birds were several
Eastern Meadowlarks found by Denis along North Eola Road. Dave
Wednesday, February 8
Many of the same waterfowl were still around the Lab this morning,
but the numbers of
Common Mergansers and
Common Goldeneyes were down
considerably. Other waterfowl of note were
American Black Ducks,
Ring-necked Ducks, and
Hooded Mergansers. Five
American Coots still
remain in the Main Injector Moat. A hike along Kress Creek produced
the first
White-throated Sparrows of the year but little else.
Horned Larks were also near this area. Several
Great Horned Owls were located
and, finally, the first nest of the year. One of the
Great Horned Owls was being mobbed by six
American Crows in a pine tree on West Wilson Road; the six crows together being the oddity here. The highlight of the morning came early, around 8:00 am, when I spotted
a beautiful pair of
Northern Harriers hunting on the west side of
North Eola Road. As the male crossed the road and I followed with my
binoculars, a
Short-eared Owl came into my field of view. The owl
continued to hunt for several minutes then went down on some prey.
Dave
Sunday, February 5
March-like weather conditions continued at Fermilab this morning.
This trend was more evident by the amount of both bird movement and
singing throughout the Lab. We started out at Lake Law and the
Sparrow Hedge area with good results starting with two new species
for the year including a
Lesser Scaup and five flyover
Tundra Swans.
Other highlights in the area were Several
Cackling Geese and
Common Goldeneye, lots of
Common Mergansers, a
Northern Shrike, Five
Blue Jays, a couple of
American Crows, numerous
Horned Larks (in the
fields south of the Hedge), and several
Red-winged Blackbirds. A
second
Northern Shrike was found inside the Main Ring. The first
American Wigeon for the year was located inside the Ring along
with
American Black Ducks,
Ring-necked Ducks, a
Ruddy Duck, a
Hooded Merganser,
American Coots, and
Song Sparrows. Finally,
Eastern Bluebirds continue to be a solid line for the year's records. Dave
Thursday, February 2
Foggy and virtually windless conditions this morning provided some
good birding with interesting results. First a large circuit of the
Sparrow Hedge area produced some new year birds with a
White-crowned Sparrow, several
Fox Sparrows and a first-ever
February sighting of a female
Eastern Towhee. Another first-ever
February sighting was a
Yellow-rumped Warbler pished in with a group
of
Black-capped Chickadees in the woods along Giese Road. The
American Robins around the Sparrow Hedge were well dispersed outside
the deeper wooded areas as if it were early spring. Another spring
like sign was a
Hairy Woodpecker drumming as its mate responded
along Indian Creek. Another pair of
Hairy Woodpeckers were
interacting in the Big Woods.
Peter also added a
Belted Kingfisher and
Ring-necked Ducks from last
evening. Dave
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