|
Author: Peter Kasper
Friday, November 23
A late afternoon birding and evening owling session was
somewhat productive. Large numbers of
Canada Geese were
still in the air and lakes, with still a good
representation of
Cackling Geese. A highlight here was a
flock of 16
Greater White-fronted Geese overhead. Duck numbers were lead by
Northern Shovelers and
Mallards with
the same divers as last week -
Common Goldeneye,
Hooded Mergansers and
Ruddy Ducks. The only other afternoon
highlights were some
Killdeer by Lake Logo and a
Wilson's Snipe along the moat inside the Ring. It was a three owl
night. First a
Short-eared Owl was seen east of Eola Road just south of the junction with Swenson Road. An
Eastern Screech-Owl responded to calls in the Center Ring Woods.
Finally, a
Great Horned Owl was seen perched in the old
rookery by Lake Logo. Dave Sunday, November 18
Birding was a little slow this morning. There were large
numbers of geese in the ponds including a large number of
Cackling Geese, even more than last week. I pair of blue
Snow Geese were the highlight here. Some of the first of
the Divers showed up as in small numbers they were
Common Goldeneye,
Hooded Merganser, and
Ruddy Duck. For raptor
highlights there was
Northern Harrier,
Sharp-shinned Hawk,
Cooper's Hawk and
American Kestrel. Kestrels have been
hard to come by lately. Some other highlights were
Belted Kingfisher,
Eastern Bluebird (a flock of about a dozen),
Field Sparrow, and finally a
Great Horned Owl in the
Center Ring Woods. Sparrows were noticeably down from
last week. Dave Sunday, November 11
In Peter's absence I covered the Fermi birding this
Sunday, Nov. 11. Lots of geese filled the lakes including
a good number of
Cackling Geese. A couple of
Greater White-fronted Geese were seen later in the buffalo
fields. Inside the ring were a couple of
Northern Harriers and a late
Great Egret in Lake Logo. A
Wilson's Snipe was flushed along the creek near Road C, a typical
winter haunt for this species. There was a group of
several
Eastern Bluebirds in the trees near the A. E.
Sea. Denis and his class spotted a
Northern Shrike along
Town Road. Finally, two
Great Horned Owls were spotted,
one near the Sea of Evanescence and the other in the
Center Ring Woods.
Dave Sunday, November 4
A bitter cold wind and a distinct absence of land birds made
an unpromising start to the day's birding. A bright point
appeared when I was south of the sparrow hedge and flushed a
Lapland Longspur but was soon replaced by
disappointment as I watched it disappear into the distance.
Things started looking up again, however, when I arrived at
the garden club where a
Northern Shrike was attacking
sparrows and was interrupted by an incoming
Sharp-shinned Hawk. As the "sharpie" headed off a
Northern Harrier hove
into view and was soon replaced by
Red-tailed Hawk. All four
avian predators were seen within the first few minutes of
our arrival. We spent some time scouring through the
sparrows but the only noteworthy finds were a couple of late
Chipping Sparrows. We then headed into the center of the
main ring where we found several
Wilson's Snipe and some
late
Least Sandpipers. We ended the day with a flock of
Greater White-fronted Geese at the bison wallow.
|
