Attack of the Wild Turkey

On Sunday afternoon, January 19, I was scoping waterfowl at Lake Bloomington. I saw six Common Mergansers, a Ruddy Duck, a Lesser Scaup, and a few Mallards in addition to the multitudes of Canada Geese, but my distance and position in relation to the sun was making it difficult for me to get good looks and to identify some of the other ducks from the park by the dam. I decided to drive into the adjoining neighborhood and see if there was a better vantage point between houses, hoping I might be able to see something different from the road. As I pulled into Sunset Lane, I saw something different, but it was a fowl of a different sort--what at least appeared to be a Wild Turkey.



I thought the bird would see me and either scurry or fly away, but this turkey seemed oblivious of my presence and continued its casual approach in the direction of my car.







Suddenly, I realized that the bird did see me and wanted to get closer.



The next thing I knew, this turkey hen was standing next to my car, staring into my driver's side window like it wanted to ask me something.



Could this really be a Wild Turkey? Why would someone have a domesticated turkey in this neighborhood? Curious, I decided to get out my car and attempt to communicate with the bird. Little did I know, she was not as friendly and harmless as she looked. As I opened the car door to get out, she momentarily stepped away. It became obvious that she did not want me to pet her, yet she continued to approach me as if she wanted something.









Has someone been feeding her? Does she think I have food? Then I made a diplomatic error. I held out my hand to see if someone had been feeding her. She pecked at my hand. Of course, there was nothing there for her to eat, and she suddenly became more aggressive. As I slowly backed away, she began to follow me, while squawking angrily. I recorded this on video.



When it finally dawned on me that she was seriously upset, I turned to get in my car. No sooner than I had turned around, the hen had jumped in the air and charged at my leg with her bill. I felt the power behind her wings--the sudden jab of pain in my leg. I jumped in the car and closed the door. And there she was, standing by the window, looking at me again. She furiously pecked at my door. As I drove away, I could see her chasing me in the rearview mirror.



For a moment, I felt like I was at Jurassic Park being chased by a T-Rex. There is a definite resemblance to T-Rex. Check out the talons on this bird!





As I continued driving through the neighborhood still hoping for a better view of waterfowl, I saw a man standing in his driveway. I stopped to ask about the turkey. He asked me if I was hungry, and encouraged me to take the hen with me. He did not know where this bird had come from, but also believed someone had been feeding her. Apparently she had been tormenting the whole neighborhood by chasing people and their dogs. Dogs were afraid to go on walks, and even people would no longer leave their houses without a stick in hand.

On Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to show some of my clients the turkey on the way back from the doctor's office. I wondered if it might chase one of them, hoping we would all get a good laugh out of the visit. It did seem curious about them when we got out of the car, but it was very agreeable and friendly until it saw me standing at a distance taking pictures. Then suddenly it went into attack mode again, chasing me more aggressively than before. I managed to escape once again with my life, but the laugh was at my expense. I guess it served me right. The bird must have still been angry about the last tease. Did it hate me because I extended a hand with no food, or was it my camera or something else about me that it did not like. I don't think I will return again to find out. Jurassic Park is a dangerous place to visit.

Written and published on February 10, 2012

Three Owls in a Day and a Few Other Winter Birds

On Sunday night, January 8, I read a post on the Central Illinois Birding Group website by Angelo Capparella regarding Fran Harty's sighting of a Snowy Owl at the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington. I wanted to go look for the bird the next morning, but I could not because I had to leave for the early shift at work while it was still dark (5:50 a.m.). One advantage of going in to work so early, however, is being able to get off before it is dark. When I got off, I headed straight for the airport but was unable to find the Snowy. As far as I heard, everyone who tried to see this bird on Monday could not locate it, except for Dale Birkenholz, who saw it early in the morning. I also heard that the bird appeared to be an adult male because it was nearly white all over--just the kind I was hoping to see since the bird I was so blessed to see in November/December was heavily streaked and, therefore, probably a young bird.

In my search, I did come across a horned winter beauty. This Horned Lark was on airport property just off of Oakland.







When I realized I was not going to find the Snowy, I tried to head for Moraine View State Park, hoping to see a Barred Owl or a Pileated Woodpecker again, but the area I hoped to search was occupied by hunters. Then with the light almost gone, I headed to the Saybrook Habitat Area, hoping to see a Short-eared Owl, where one was seen in December, but nothing came up from the prairie. I'm curious whether pheasant season at the Saybrook area drives the Short-eareds away. Short-eared Owl would be a lifer for me, so, hopefully, I'll have better success later this winter after all the hunting is over. But on Monday, I struck out on the owls--no Snowy, no Barred, and no Short-eared.

On Tuesday, I had hardly any light left by the time I left work, but I stopped by Angler's Pond, hoping to see the Northern Mockingbird that Mark Swanson had there. I did not see any mockingbirds, but I did see this Muskrat. Notice the long fat tail on this creature. It was very strange to see this little mammal dragging such an enormous tail behind it.



I had plenty of light when I left for work on Wednesday morning, and it was another beautiful sunny day. As I passed the new bridge South of Towanda on Highway 29, I saw what looked like a hawk in a tree. I turned around to get another pass and a better look. Then I pulled off the road when I noticed the bird was not a hawk, but a Barred Owl.





I pulled back on the road and was about to go for a face straight on shot when I saw a truck coming behind me in the distance. I drove on ahead so I could let the truck by and turn around. When I came back, however, the owl was no longer in the tree. It must have flown to the ground to hunt prey. Suddenly I saw the owl flying up from the direction of the ground, coming straight toward my car. When it saw me, it turned and flew behind my car and into the woods. This happened pretty fast, and I was too amazed to take a picture. Owl #1!

Later that day, I received a text from Matt Fraker, asking if I could come to the Fraker Farm in Woodford County to see a Saw-whet Owl that Matt had found that day on his property. When I was able to get away, I decided to take one of my clients with me to see the owl, knowing how much he appreciated animals. When I went to find this client, I saw another client drawing a picture of an owl. "That's it!" I thought. "I'm taking him too." So the three of us headed to the farm. On the way there, we all saw a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk on N 400 E Rd.

When we arrived, Matt jumped into my car and we drove to the property where he had parked his truck. The boys jumped in the bed of his truck, and we drove on his property to the spot where the owls roost. Once we all got to the spot, Matt realized that the owl was no longer in the spot he had seen it. Fortunately, he was able to relocate it not far from where it had been, but it was tucked in very well and difficult to see. We did not get the good looks at the bird's face that Matt had earlier, but it was still cool to see this little owl, and each of us got to see the bird. Owl #2!





The Long-eared Owls were not in their usual roosting site nearby, so Matt showed the boys some of their pellets on the ground. For anyone who does not know what owl pellets are, the bones and hair of their prey, which they cannot digest, come back up through their mouths in the form of a pellet.

On the way back, we saw three Red-tailed Hawks and about seven or eight deer in someone's yard.



Later on, I saw a couple of white objects in a corn field between El Paso and Gridley. We were very close to where I had spotted a Snowy Owl back at the end of November, so I was hoping another owl might come to the same area. I thought it was probably two white trash bags that I saw in the corn field, but it might be worth while to check. So I pulled off and looked through my binoculars. The first object was a trash bag. The second kind of had the shape of a Snowy, but I was not sure. Then it turned it's head around, and I saw its face. I could not believe it. Another Snowy less than a mile from where I had found my first, and it was an adult male (almost entirely white)--just the kind I wanted to see. I put the scope on the bird so both of the boys could see. Then I took a few shots of the bird before we left. Owl #3!







So I struck out on Monday, but had a home run on Wednesday! And I was so glad that a couple of my boys got to see a couple of those owls. Matt, thanks so much for inviting me to see the Northern Saw-whet, and letting my boys come along!

But the week was not over. Thursday was another early morning at work for me and not much sooner than I had arrived at work it began snowing. In the afternoon, I went looking for the Snowy again, hoping to see this bird in the snow. As I was driving, however, I could not help noticing a flock of about thirty Lapland Longspurs on N 400 E Rd. Here is a small gallery of these birds.

















Here is a video of the same birds.



This last shot reminds us of why this bird is called a longspur.



I also stopped by Gridley Wastewater Treatment Ponds on the way to see the owl. There was a small flock of Horned Larks on the road adjacent to the ponds, and further down there was a mixed flock of mostly longspurs with a few larks. Inside the fence, in the grass between the ponds, there was a flock of about 40 Lapland Longspurs.





It was exciting to watch these birds feeding in the snow storm. When I arrived at the Snowy location, I saw a truck sitting still on 1800 Rd. I pulled into this frozen dirt road and walked toward the truck to see who was in it. It was Aaron Yount, nature photographer, artist, and fellow birder. Aaron had his mother with him so that she could see this bird. Aaron said this was his last hurrah before moving to New York.

The Snowy had moved just West of where I had seen it the previous evening, and I was able to see it through my binoculars, but the snow was interfering with the autofocus on my camera, which was okay because I was happy with the shots I had taken the day before.

Aaron, it was nice to see you again, and best wishes in New York!

Adult Light Morph Male Rough-legged Hawk in McLean and Woodford Counties

Ted Hartzler called this morning to let me know that he had found a Rough-legged Hawk just East of El Paso Sewage Treatment Center. I headed over later this morning and saw the bird fly up from the corn field and hover over the road in front of me right around the corner of the road about a quarter mile East of the sewage ponds right around the corner of 2900E/1500E and 3200N/1100N road, which happens to be the county line between McLean and Woodford Counties. The bird, which seemed to be hunting, flew around quite a bit over both counties, giving me two county birds in one bird. The hawk was also harrassed some by crows. I lost and relocated it several times. At one point, a second hawk was flying near it, but I was not able to identify or photograph the second bird. I sent my photos to Matt Fraker, who is in New York, and he identified the bird as an adult light morph male.

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.