Four Owls in One Week and Other Raptors

On Tuesday, December 20th, I was took a couple of my clients to appointments in Bloomington. On the way in, I saw a strange looking raptor on top of a telephone pole on Airport Rd. near the intersection with Fort Jesse Rd. As there was not much traffic, I was able to take a few quick shots before continuing on to the appointments.







My first impression, probably because the bird had so much white on its head, was that I had seen my first McLean County Rough-legged Hawk. On the way back to the Ranch, I saw the bird again at the same location and decided to give Matt Fraker a call, knowing that he worked just down the road from where this bird was perched. Matt was able to arrive on the scene after I had left and take some outstanding photographs of the bird from different angles. He was eventually able to identify this raptor as a juvenile Harlan's Hawk. Harlan's is a Red-tailed Hawk subspecies, rarely seen in central Illinois. If you would like to see Matt's awesome photos of this bird, use this link.

http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=49692.0

When Matt wrote up his post, he mentioned that he had seen Trumpeter Swans in a barrow pit near the bottom of McLean County. On Wednesday, I rushed down there after work, hoping to have enough light to see them, but the barrow pit was pretty far off of the road, and I didn't see anything in it even with my scope. However, going both ways, I saw my first owl of the week--a Great Horned Owl sitting on a power line near Centennial Park in Heyworth. This was the third time I have seen a Great Horned Owl sitting on a power line or telephone pole at dusk this year. Although it was too dark to take a picture, I have a photo of the one I saw in July near Shirley, IL.



I am glad to have seen these Great Horned Owls, but so far, I have not had the opportunity to see one in good light. After each such encounter, I wished I could have arrived a little earlier on the scene to see and photograph the bird in better light, but I also wondered if the owl would have been there when the light was better.

Friday afternoon, Les Allen and I went to Moraine View State Park, hoping to find a Pileated Woodpecker to our county lists before the end of the year. Although we did not hear or see a Pileated, we had Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and American Tree Sparrows. Furthermore, we saw a lot of raptors, including about seven Red-tailed Hawks, a Northern Harrier, a third year Bald Eagle, and this Barred Owl--my second owl of the week, which was getting mobbed by Blue Jays late in the afternoon.



The next morning, Carrie and I picked up Les and headed to the Fraker Farm in Woodford County, hoping to see one of Matt Fraker's Long-eared Owls. Matt was a gracious host. He drove us all over his property and the surrounding area, but first he took us to see the owl. Matt had us wait at a distance while he went into the pines to set his scope on the bird. After he had the scope aimed at the owl, he returned and told me that there were not one but two Long-eared Owls in the same tree. Then we went in one at a time to see them. My first looks left something to be desired as the face of the owl higher up in the tree was covered by pine needles, and the owl lower in the tree was turned away so that i had a brief glimpse of its eye from the side, but otherwise could not see its face. After everyone had a look, I went back in to take some pictures. Eventually, the lower bird turned, and everyone was able to get a good look at its face.











Here is a shot of the second owl, which was roosting higher in the tree. Notice the eye peering through the pine needles and the huge talons on this bird.



Before we left, Matt was able to reposition the scope so that we could see the front of the lower owl through the thick pine branches. These birds were my third and fourth owls for the week.



During our tour of the Fraker Farm and surrounding area we saw about nine Red-tailed Hawks, an American Kestrel, and four Northern Harriers. The two Northern Harriers we saw toward the end of our tour seemed to be playing leap frog in a field. Both of them sat in the field for a few minutes until they were mobbed by crows.



After we left the farm, Les, Carrie, and I saw a couple more Northern Harriers by the road, including this juvenile bird.



Our time at the Fraker Farm helped to make Christmas Eve very memorable this year. That just about raps it up for the week, but I also want to share these pictures I took in Raleigh, NC back in May. At the time I was not sure of the identity of these birds, but I discovered this week that they are pictures of Red-shouldered Hawks. This is pretty cool since they are the only Red-shouldered Hawks I have ever photographed though I did see another one in West Virginia the same week.





Finally, here is a close up of one of the Long-eared owls. Happy New Year!



P.S. I took another picture of the same Barred Owl at Moraine View on New Year's Eve. The quality is not any better, but you can see more of the bird.