The Eagles take the day!
The total mileage on this survey route is 112 miles. We actually drove over 135 miles because we really wanted to find a Snowy Owl! So we took a couple detours to go to places where they had been spotted in the last day or two (reported on eBird). We did find one Snowy, east of the Atkins Lake area, but he was a million miles away! Maybe next month will be better!
We did see Bald Eagles! We spotted four on our route and two additional ones while driving to the starting point. That’s quite a number for that area!
I still can’t help but wonder if our reduction in raptor numbers is due to the large snowfall we had a couple of weeks ago. The numbers of American Kestrels and Northern Harriers, as well as the Rough-legged Hawks, were definitely less than previous months.
When you are out looking for raptors in the landscape, every white clump of snow is a Snowy Owl. And every bump on a rock, or a hillside, is a hawk waiting to be found. Amanda and I laugh about a certain “Rock Hawk” on one segment of this route. It sits on top of a rock which is on top of a hill, and looks exactly like that… a hawk sitting on a rock. We have driven by this particular “Rock Hawk” a total of 12 times. The first time we went by it, we were both convinced it was a hawk until we got close and looked at it with a binoculars. Definitely not a bird! And every subsequent month when we would drive by it we would say, “Oh, look! There’s the Rock Hawk!“ But last month, as we drove by, I was convinced there really was a bird up there! Of course my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, and I was driving. So we stopped and I got out the binoculars and I was convinced it moved. “This time there really is a hawk up there, Amanda! I saw it move!” She was not convinced. At all. And rightly so. It was just a rock.
We decided to stop and eat our lunch up at the Vernal Ponds. While we were there a couple other birders happened by who were also looking for Snowy Owls. One person was the gentleman who owns the property where the Saint Andrews Grange was located. We talked to him a little while about the fire and its aftermath and what it’s meant for his existence. He also told us about a prairie falcon who hangs out around the fertilizer storage area just east of the Saint Andrews intersection. We were happy to hear that, because it’s on the latter part of our route. And sure enough, when we got there, there was a prairie falcon sitting on a power pole! It was great to see it. It was a little too far away to get a good photo, but we were definitely able to identify it. Now we will know to keep our eyes open for it when we go back that way.
Here is a summary of what was seen today.
Red-tailed Hawk. 1
American Kestrel. 1
Northern Harrier. 1
Bald Eagle (Adult). 4
Rough-legged Hawk. 7
Prairie Falcon. 1
Snowy Owl. 1