I was able to take a nice trip out with my good friend and mentor, Alec Humann around the Niagara region of NY the other day (08JAN2014). What a day it was! We headed up to Meahl Road in Lockport NY to start our adventure by scanning the fields for Short-eared Owls. While we didn't see any right away, we did come across a few Northern Harriers. This boded well since the two species share the same prey items and hunting grounds. I asked Alec if we could swing around a long road to circle a huge field and I ended up spotting a large flock of Horned Larks right away. I wasn't able to snap any good pictures, but they did end up flying right over Alec's truck, and I could make out the yellow and black facial features of the bird in my bins while I heard them singing away as they flew over. This was a pretty sweet deal as I had never seen Horned Lark, and you can't beat a lifer flyover. Not two minutes later I was slapped in the face with yet another lifer! Alec spotted a dark mass in the corn field just as we started to pull away and slammed on the brakes. There it was! A Short-eared Owl in the middle of the day. The strikingly beautiful bird was sitting about 100 meters off the road in an old corn field and I was able to pull off one good picture as the sun came out from behind the clouds and said, "Savor this moment forever." So it was said, so it was written:
What an incredible predator! They're known to be active in the day when food is plentiful, but we suspect this one might have been flushed from its roost by something or other. I tried taking some better pictures but the Shortie continued on its journey across the expansive field. Sometimes one is enough. I'll never forget my lifer now. Alec and I drove all the way out to Wilson Tuscaroga State Park where I often play disc golf in the summer and then straight up to the Wilson Pier. Both of us wanted to see Northern Shrike and I needed one for my life list. Try as we might, there was not a Shrike in sight. I've been studying this murderous passerine for a while and I might be slightly obsessed with the bird. Ah well. You can't win 'em all. We saw tons of Red-tailed Hawks, and both common accipiters (SSHA & COHA) on our journey up to the pier. There we spotted tons of various ducks including a sole Canvasback that I didn't expect. The complete list of new birds is reflected in my year list dated 08JAN2014 and can be seen my clicking >here.<
We headed back to Meahl Rd. hoping to put our eager eyes onto some Rough-legged Hawks with the possibility of more owls, and we were not disappointed! Out of nowhere... as if in repentance for not giving us a Northern Shrike, the bird gods decided to drop a light morph juvenile Rough-legged Hawk on our heads. I can't get enough of these arctic raptors! They've got feathers all the way down their tibia, tarsus, and almost onto their feet! I wasn't able to get great pictures because of the fading light and distance, but any identification picture is a good one. Here is the best of the bunch, followed by a less focused shot with a better angle:
We headed back to Meahl Rd. hoping to put our eager eyes onto some Rough-legged Hawks with the possibility of more owls, and we were not disappointed! Out of nowhere... as if in repentance for not giving us a Northern Shrike, the bird gods decided to drop a light morph juvenile Rough-legged Hawk on our heads. I can't get enough of these arctic raptors! They've got feathers all the way down their tibia, tarsus, and almost onto their feet! I wasn't able to get great pictures because of the fading light and distance, but any identification picture is a good one. Here is the best of the bunch, followed by a less focused shot with a better angle: