A male Belted Kingfisher was perched on a branch over the creek close to the road. I took a couple photos of it, but unfortunately, the lighting wasn't the best.
The Regency Boulevard ponds had been frozen for a couple weeks, but now they were mostly open again and held around 250 Canada Geese. I started scanning through them and discovered a male Redhead. It was the first one I had ever seen there.
Also among the geese, I was able to pick out a Cackling Goose and two Snow Geese, one of them a "Blue" Goose.
There were around 70 American Crows in the field behind the houses. Soon after, about 35 Fish Crows gave their nasal calls as they flew overhead.
As I was leaving, I noticed about ten Mourning Doves flying past me followed by a larger bird. As it swooped up and banked away, I got a nice look at it and realized that it was an adult Peregrine Falcon! Unfortunately, until I got to a spot where I could park the car and try and get a photo, it was already winging its way off to the southeast. It was another new species for me at the site. I searched for a while, hoping that it would return. I did refind it circling with two Black Vultures, but it was too far away for photos.
I made the short drive up to the Silver Crest Road pond. A Great Blue Heron stood in the one corner of the partially-frozen pond.
I searched through the roughly 350 Canada Geese. There were no ducks, but one of the geese had white markings along the neck and the back of the head. My guess is that it was a leucistic Canada Goose.
From there, I headed for the Nazareth Quarry. At the pond along Georgetown Road, there were 4 Black Vultures and a Turkey Vulture feeding on a deer carcass right next to the road.
At the Nazareth Quarry, there were an estimated 15,000 Snow Geese present. Other birds in the quarry included American Black Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Common Mergansers, American Coots, and 5 Redheads. I managed to get a photo with four of the five in it.
On the way home, I drove by the Newburg Road retention pond and saw a Bald Eagle flying off to the southeast. While checking out a Red-tailed Hawk atop one of the high-tension towers, I spotted another raptor flying near it. That turned out to be a Northern Harrier, a nice end to the afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment