High Winds and Red Tails - 21 Nov 2022
Saturday's storms dumped 6 feet of snow on Western New York prompting the Bills to play the Browns in Detroit. Here it was cold and gusty with winds hitting 40 mph most of the day. I wouldn't leave the house. Sunday came along w/ less wind, but 2" of snow fell leaving a pretty blanket on the ground.
This morning the Sun came out but moderate to high winds ensued that would make the day a challenge for birding. But, I had to get out of the house (vacation) so I packed the gear to head to Sterling State Park in Monroe. I made it a point to remove my lens hood from the 600/4 lens so that I wouldn't have any issues with convection distortion from heat being trapped in the hood while shooting in the cold.
My opportunity to test it came quick when a Red-tailed Hawk floated across the front of the car just as I was getting on the I-75 S ramp at West Road. I was able to pull over as it landed in the tree next to the car so it never saw me approach. I was able to roll the passenger window down and get some nice portrait shots of the bird as turned around and began to scan its surroundings.
Nov 21, 2022 9:00 AM
Protocol: Incidental
1 species
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I then drove to Sterling State Park and found the inland ponds mostly frozen. Flocks of Ring-billed Gulls were still fighting the winds in the big pond (still unfrozen) along with a few distant Bonaparte's Gulls. With no ducks on the water and only small huddling flocks on the ice to the north I drove to the south end of the park to check for any American White Pelicans.
I walked the foot path across the suspension bridge at the south end of the park but saw no ducks (last year at this time there were 400 Hooded Mergansers). The marsh to the west was frozen over so there were only 2 Mute Swans sleeping out in the middle of the ice. As I returned to the car a pair of Killdeer were calling from the shoreline of the big pond. A pair of Bald Eagles soaring overhead did not keep them around very long.
I then headed to the beach to collect some dried zebra mussel shells from the shoreline for Robin's art project. Waves were crashing out in Lake Erie and ice lined the shoreline. No sooner did I finish my shell collecting that I looked up and saw three very dark Peregrine Falcons passing overhead!
Two of the birds flew past me and disappeared into the woods to the north before I could even get the camera on them. Luckily, the third bird circled around to check me out before turning back to the south. That gave me plenty of time to capture a couple hundred pics as it soared overhead.
As I was driving out of the park a small flock of American Tree Sparrows flashed across the road and landed in the vegetation to my left. I was able to get one photo from inside the car.
Nov 21, 2022 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Inland ponds frozen; large pond mostly open; windy
7 species
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 2
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 12
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 120
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 2
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 3 Two of the birds flew past me and disappeared into the woods to the north before I could even get the camera on them. Luckily, the third bird circled around to check me out before turning back to the south. That gave me plenty of time to capture a couple hundred pics as it soared overhead.
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 12
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I decided to grab a quick lunch before continuing on south to Luna Pier. The walk along the breakwall was windy enough that I didn't bother to scope the hundreds of ducks (mostly Lesser Scaup and Common Goldeneye) out on the lake. Instead, I walked to the end of the pier to photograph a flock of Mallard that contained a half-dozen American Black Ducks. A pair of Lesser Scaup were the only ducks close enough to the breakwall to photograph.
Nov 21, 2022 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.4 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Windy, cold
5 species
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 120
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) 6
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) 100
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 2
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 60
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Returning to the Dixie Hwy exit I headed north along the turnpike to stop by Pt. Mouillee on the way home. I turned around when an American Kestrel landed on the overhead wire to my right but it was gone by the time I turned around. It was being chased by a Northern Harrier out into the field just south of Chinavarre Rd. Thing is, once they reached the field the kestrel looped upward and started dive-bombing the harrier until it was forced to the ground in the middle of the field.
Nov 21, 2022 1:00 PM - 1:05 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.3 mile(s)
2 species
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Once they flew off I headed down Rheaume Rd. where another Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead and disappeared into the quarry to the south. I only saw it after it flushed the four Eastern Bluebirds I was trying to photograph in harsh light.
Nov 21, 2022 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Windy, cold
2 species
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 4
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I returned to Haggerman Rd. but only found a single Horned Lark along the mile-long dirt road.
As I crossed Labo Rd. I spotted an American Kestrel on the wires to my left. I was able to get close enough to get a few pics before it spotted me and flew back to the wires behind me. I took that queue to continue on toward home.
Nov 21, 2022 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
2 species
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
