Late Saturday afternoon, February 11, I checked the pond by Heartland Community College on Raab Rd. and found eight Canvasbacks. This prompted me to check White Oak Park and the Martin Luther King Dr. Gravel Pit for Waterfowl the following day. Les Allen joined me, and we began at White Oak, where there were around 300 Cackling Geese mixed in with the Canada Geese. The light was great so I took some pictures.
Also present was one Ross's Goose and at least two Greater White-fronted Geese. Notice the similarity in size between the Cackling Goose and Ross's Goose shown below.
On February 12, I checked the Constitution Trail behind Colleen Hoose Elementary School in Normal, hoping to see the Merlins that Given Harper saw earlier this year. I did not see the Merlins, but I photographed this Northern Cardinal.
On February 14, I was on my way to stop by my wife's office before going home, but I was side-tracked by a Belted Kingfisher on a power line beside Veteran's Pkwy in Bloomington. There is a small creek between the Bridgestone Tire building and Veteran's and this bird above it. This seemed to me such an odd place to see a kingfisher.
While I was checking out the kingfisher, I also saw this Red-tailed Hawk.
The next day, late in the afternoon, I decided to take one of the boys at the ranch with me to look for the Snowy Owl Tim Lindenbaum had found near Lexington. On the way there, however, I thought I saw Snow Geese at the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds from the Road. When I drove in to check, there were indeed approximately 700 Snow Geese, with at least one Ross's Goose. There were probably more, but I was only able to pick one out of the flock.
Not long after I had pulled in, a worker drove by, and flushed over half of the flock. These birds flew overhead for several minutes, while the others continued to stand on the frozen pond.
The worker, who was very friendly and did not mind that I was there, approached me and asked me to leave so that he could lock the gate as he usually does in the evening. Unfortunately, as I drove out, the rest of the geese took off.
We continued through Lexington and were able to locate the Snowy Owl, very close to where it had been most recently reported.
On February 16, I returned to Lexington. The Snowy was way out in the field. After I set the scope on it, Matt Fraker pulled up and took a look at the bird through the scope. On the way home, I drove around Evergreen Lake, and saw a Barred Owl by the dam. Then I stopped by Comlara Park and saw a small flock of Common Goldeneyes take flight.
The following day, I returned to Lexington again after work, hoping to see the Snowy Owl up close in better light. When I arrived, a friendly couple was watching the bird in almost the exact spot it had been the previous night, but perhaps a little closer to the road. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names though they told me several times. I should have written this post sooner. I set up the scope so that we could all get better looks. Not long after this couple left, Sherrie Snyder and Mary Jo Adams arrived. We watched the the Snowy in the field until it flew up to the nearest telephone pole at around 5:20 p.m., just before dusk, which seemed to be its habit based on the other reports I had read. Part of the fun of seeing this bird was running into other birders and sharing the experience with them.
Written and published on March 6, 2012
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