Great Horned Owl! - 24 Feb 2013

Sunny skies provided an opportunity to look for the Great Horned Owl that had been seen at Lake Erie Metropark. From the Boat Launch the trail that follows the shoreline crosses a large wooden bridge.  The owl has been seen in the west, across from the marsh in the large trees.

I found it there this morning, roosting in the morning sunlight, high up in an alder tree.  I digiscoped it from about 200' away.

I was sad to see that the leaning pine tree was cut down - this was the tree where I photographed the Golden-crowned Kinglet just last week. On the way out numerous White-tailed Deer were foraging along the roadside, so I grabbed a quick portrait from inside the car.

Lake Erie Metropark, Wayne, Michigan, US
Feb 24, 2013 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
1 species

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S44444337

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

I drove over to Pt. Mouillee HQ to look for ducks.  On Campau Rd. I spotted the dark-phase Red-tailed Hawk that had been seen in the area since Fall. The Huron River was half frozen, and hosted hundreds of Mute/Tundra Swans, Mallard, Gadwall, American Coot, and Canvasback.  I managed a few photos of the coots as they foraged along the break wall.

Pte. Mouillee SGA--HQ, Wayne, Michigan, US
Feb 24, 2013 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
7 species

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)  80
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)  40
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  37
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  24
American Coot (Fulica americana)  46
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1     dark phase

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S163915050

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

A loop around Roberts Rd. yielded a pair of American Kestrels, but too far to photograph.

Gibraltar Landfill, Monroe, Michigan, US
Feb 24, 2013 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
1 species

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S163915194

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Along Haggerman Rd. I found dozens of Horned Larks, and a fly-by Gray Ghost (male Northern Harrier).

Antenna Farm, Monroe, Michigan, US
Feb 24, 2013 11:00 AM - 11:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
2 species

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  22

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S163915319

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)