I have continued to enjoy seeing an nice variety of raptors this Winter. On January 14, I saw this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on a telephone pole next to the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds. This bird was pretty cooperative, allowing me to take this shot from my car, which was parked right beneath him. I particularly liked this photo because of the icicles hanging from the pole.
Just before dusk, the same day, I stopped by the pond at State Farm Corporate South and found this juvenile one-legged Ross's Goose with a large group of waterfowl, including Canada, Cackling, and Greater White-fronted Geese, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Ring-necked Ducks, and a Bufflehead.
On January 23, I was driving by Lake Bloomington when I noticed what appeared to be a young Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a power line just South of the North Park entrance. Unlike the Red-tail I photographed above, this bird was very skiddish and difficult to photograph, but I was able to get some good looks passing by and a couple of decent identification shots.
A couple of days later, I saw my first of the year Cooper's Hawk, a juvenile, on a tree on a farm just South of the Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds. Too bad the light was not better. This bird was highly cooperative, still sitting in the same spot after I left.
The next day, which was a Saturday, I had the joy of taking my wife birding at Clinton Lake. Not only did Carrie see her first Northern Saw-whet Owl with me. She also got her lifer looks at Gadwalls and Common Goldeneyes. We had a super fun time together. Carrie thought the saw-whet owl looked much cuter in person than in the photos that she had seen. After Carrie and I returned home, I ran some errands, which included driving through Downs, hoping to see the Barred Owls that Shanin Abreu had reported. I happened upon both of them on opposite sides of N 2100 E Rd. There was not much light left for photos, but it was nice to see and hear my first Barred Owls of the year. Here is a poorly lit shots of one of them.
The next Friday evening, I was driving around Evergreen Lake on February 1, when I noticed a Barred Owl sitting on a speed limit sign. When I turned around to get a shot, the owl flew down to a post where it remained. This time I had a little more light than I had had in Downs.
The next day, I returned to Clinton Lake hoping to see the two Northern Saw-whet Owls that Matt Fraker had found. It took me a while to find the first. As you can see, these little guys are good at hiding.
The second saw-whet could be seen from the road, but it was even more difficult to find. I caught it cleaning some leftovers off of one of its talons. Once it noticed me watching, it stopped, moved slowly back into position and became very still.
I came back the next day, hoping for better light. Here is the first owl in almost the exact same location, but not as close to the trunk.
And here is the second owl, which had moved to a different spot.
The following weekend on February 9, I took Brendon Lake and his mother Mary to Funks Grove and to Clinton Lake. At Funks Grove, they were able to see their lifer Eurasian Tree Sparrows at the feeders at Sugar Grove Nature Center. Then they both saw their lifer saw-whet owls at Clinton Lake, but on our way from Funks Grove to Clinton Lake, Mary spotted something in a tree near Centennial Park in Heyworth. I don't know how she saw this bird, which was well of the road, but the pine tree provided a nice background for this Bald Eagle even on an overcast day.
While at Clinton Lake, I received a text from Shanin Abreu that the Barnacle Goose had been relocated at Lake Bloomington. Brendon and Mary followed me all the way North to Lake Bloomington, and we searched for the Barnacle Goose. Although we saw Cackling, Canada, Greater White-fronted, and a Snow Goose, we could not find the Barnacle Goose, and Mary and Brendon left to return home. However, Les Allen, Dale Birkenholz, and Rhea Edge arrived as we were leaving, and after making sure Mary and Brendon could find their way to the highway, I returned to see whether the experts had found the goose. Les had indeed found the Barnacle Goose and had it in the scope when I found the party, and I enjoyed my lifer looks of the goose, while it was walking around on the ice. A couple of days later, I was able to get a distant photo of this bird.
Other waterfowl I saw at Lake Bloomington that week included Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, Mallard, and Common Goldeneye. Evergreen Lake hosted Common Mergansers, Greater White-fronted, Canada, and Cackling Geese, Mallards, a Common Goldeneye, a Bufflehead, American Wigeons, and Lesser Scaups. So it was a very good week for waterfowl.
On February 14, I was running some Valentine's Day errands when I saw this Merlin on a telephone pole across the street from Colene Hoose Elementary School. Given Harper has been reporting Merlins near this school for the last couple of Winters. Although the light was fading, I had enough left to take some photos.
