Raptor Ramblings – Dry Falls Junction – November 2023

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A Trip Down the Tumbleweed Turnpike

Two of the many, many tumbleweeds that flew across the landscape.

Today was Thanksgiving 2023. We decided to forgo the turkey and headed out to do our last winter raptor survey for November. However, instead of turkeys, we ran into tumbleweeds! Scores of tumbleweeds!

Last week, Amanda and I started out to conduct our survey, but when we got to the east side of Moses Coulee,  the fog rolled in so thickly we couldn’t see 30 feet in front of ourselves.  There really was nothing to do but turn around and go home. Today was an absolutely beautiful, sunny day and we decided this was a good day to go back and drive the survey route. 

But, the wind! The wind was unbelievable! When you stopped the car, you could hardly open the door. And I think every tumbleweed that originated on the north end of the plateau came barreling down the wheat fields, over the sage, and the roads that we were driving. They were everywhere! We were constantly playing dodgeball with the tumbleweeds.

The abandoned Pixley School along the route.

Because of stiff wind, we were afraid the birds would really be hunkered down and we wouldn’t see many. For the first half of the day, we saw no Northern Harriers at all. But when we stopped to eat our lunch, they started to creep out. As the day went on, they came out one by one, and by the end of the day, we had counted six.

In addition to the raptors, we were happy to see a very healthy looking coyote.  He stopped to look at us several time as he trotted away. 

Coyote wonders what we are doing in his backyard.

Just south of the Vernal Ponds we saw a group of Mule Deer.

We spotted at least two bucks and fourteen does.

We were also wondering what had happened to the Red-tailed hawks.  They just weren’t showing and we wondered if we were going to start singing that song, “Where have all the Red-tails gone?“ But eventually, one showed up, and then another. We ended the day with three.

However, the Rough-legged hawks!  They were a different story!  They came to play… and to hunt. 

Rough-leggeds travel all the way down from the Arctic tundra, literally hundreds upon hundreds of miles. They weren’t bothered by the mere 30 mile-per-hour winds.

They were kiting! They were hunting! They were everywhere! Altogether we counted 22.

Two Rough-legged Hawks surveying the land below.

In addition, we saw four American Kestrels and two Prairie Falcons. 

One of four American Kestrels that we saw.

We were happy that the Tumbleweed Turnpike didn’t deter the raptor population.

Today’s Survey:

Red-tailed Hawk  3
American Kestrel  4
Northern Harrier  6
Rough-legged Hawk  22
Prairie Falcon  2