A Trip to Montezuma

We took Dawn's mother out to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge for what turned out to be an afternoon of very rewarding birding. After a stop at the gift shop, we headed across the Seneca-Cayuga barge canal for a look at a Bald Eagle family (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that has taken over an Osprey nest. We were treated to some close views of the mother eagle and one of her recently hatched eaglets:
          

Then it was back to the nature drive, where the main attraction was the Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) that were in abundance throughout the refuge. Hunting lunch was the order of the day:
     

          

Driving past the Benning Marsh we were treated to a flyover by an Osprey(Pandion haliaetus):
     

On the way out of the refuge, we were surprised by an adult male Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus):
          
Later, on the way home, we'd see another "Gray Ghost" hunting over a farmer's field. We considered ourselves to have been graced with an abundance of good fortune for having seen two such graceful, handsome birds during our outing.

The best viewing of the day was yet to come, though. Out to Armitage Road we drove in hopes of seeing the Bald Eagle family that we'd visited two weeks ago. As soon as we crested the hill we found the male sitting in the tree where we'd left him on our previous visit. We parked the car and found that new signs had been posted by the state warning watchers to keep at least 350 feet (107 meters) away. Being good birders, we dutifully observed the restrictions, and we had some terrific views through the spotting scope, but the eagle had a surprise for us. He took off and flew right toward us. Well, almost right toward us. He headed across the road close by, and touched down in the field on the opposite side of the road:
          
A Bald Eagle flying past a farm; one could hardly ask for a more quintessentially American image. Clutched in his powerful talons was some kind of small prey. He flew back toward the nest and without stopping, he deposited the meal. Then into the air he flew once more, this time for the pure pleasure of the flight:
          

He crossed the road again, flying as close to us as he had before, then headed back to his tree. I took full advantage of the opportunity he presented:
          

          

     

Meanwhile, the female fed the two hungry eaglets in the nest. Hatching occurred within the past couple of days according to the folks at the Montezuma NWR. It's not terribly clear in this photograph (the view was better through the scope), but the mother is standing on the edge of the nest just to the right of center. She's facing away from us, and the eaglet is the small round shape immediately to her left:

Twelve more weeks should bring fledging for the pair of eaglets. I can hardly wait to see the juveniles take their first flights.

Fast, Fierce Flying

Well, the trip outside was worthwhile today! Carol P, Dana and I met in the Kodak Visitor's parking lot just after noon, and we found Kaver enjoying the sunny sky and warm weather atop the High Falls smokestack:


His midday relaxation was to be short lived, though. A Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) wandered into the area from the north:
     

Kaver didn't seem overly concerned by the interloper's presence, though he kept an eye on the bird, but when it drifted too close, he went after it with a vengeance:
          

     

He actually made contact with the vulture, and you can see a drifting feather in one of these shots, as well as what looks to be a bunch of white feathers in one of Kaver's talons! He continued the pursuit, though his subsequent passes were not as dynamic as the foregoing sequence. He escorted the Turkey Vulture to the south and they both climbed higher before Kaver finally broke off the chase, leaving the vulture to head back northward, though well away from the nest:
     

We lost track of Kaver after that, and for a moment things were calm. It gave us a chance to check our pictures and review the excitement of the past few minutes. Carol spied a couple of raptors flying toward us from behind some of the buildings across the street. At first, we thought Kaver was giving chase to an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), but it soon became apparent we were watching a pair of the plucky little falcons. They landed on the old pipework atop the RGE BeeBee station, and we were suprised when the second one settled atop the first for the first bit of Kestrel mating that we've witnessed:
          

          

Amazing! The mating lasted for a long fifteen seconds or so. I know, because I was so engaged in watching the Kestrels that at first I didn't even bother to raise my camera. When I did, I still had time to document the event with more than a dozen frames in my Canon 20D. After the mating, the two kestrels sat on the pipe for a few seconds, then both were gone.

We headed for the Pont de Rennes bridge for what we hoped would be a better view, but they were nowhere to be seen. We noticed one of them flitting around in its frenetic way, circling through the sky, then heading for its nest beneath the eaves of one of the buildings in the High Falls complex:
          

We saw another Kestrel take off, and this one had prey clutched in its talons. It made a short flight through the gorge before landing on a small post where it ate some of its meal (which looks like a small mouse):
          

We spied Dan Stiehler farther down the bridge, but took a detour back toward the Kestrel to see if we could get a closer view. Unfortunatley, in true Kestrel style, the small falcon was gone by the time we arrived. We did get a great view of the entrance to the Kestrel's nest, though:


We returned to the bridge and spied this Wild Turkey(Meleagris gallopavo) on the way out:

There were more on the other side of the bridge near the falls; a couple of toms and some females, but there was little activity from them. We met up with Dan, and we compared notes on the vulture chase and the Kestrels. Larry O'Heron showed up for a while too. Too soon the hour was up and we needed to get back to work. Near the west end of the bridge, I was nearly bowled over by a pair of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) who were engaged in a heated chase of their own. Back and forth they flew, passing under the bridge, then turning to make another low pass over the span. This time, I was ready with my camera:
     

What an hour we had! It's the kind of experience that makes up for the boring watches that are all too common during Mariah's brooding period. Here's hoping for more just like it.

Eagle Watch!

Good weather and a break in our home remodeling efforts led Dawn and me to take a trip out to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge to see if we could get a look at the nesting Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). After the 50 minute drive, we followed Joni and Larry's directions to the nest site, and promptly found ourselves two bridges too far down the road. A brief consultation with a local woman who was fishing with her son led us back down the road where we found the eagles' "tree-house" eyrie. Another birder came by and noted that she'd watched the male sitting in a tree near the nest, apparently keeping the female company for some time, but when we got there, we found no sign of either adult. It was not until we moved some way along the bank of the small, nearly dry streambed that we got a clear look at the nest:


She appeared very alert, raising her head and looking about. We set up our Kowa scope and had some great views through both the scope and our binoculars. For a while there was little activity, but since this was our first time observing an adult Bald Eagle at such (relatively) close range, we were thrilled to enjoy the views and the warm sun. We interspersed our eagle watching with scans of the skies in the hope of locating the male, but for a long while the only sighting of note was an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) that chased away a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) that passed too close to its nest atop a utility pole. It was on one of these scans that I spied a dark shape with those broad, rectangular wings and a white head flying our way. It began quite far off, but soon moved closer, and our excitement grew as it flew nearer:
     

     

The male dipped below the treeline and disappeared into a tree adjacent the nest. Unfortunately his position made it impossible to pick him out through the thicket of branches. We continued to monitor the nest, hopeful that he'd take off again, and we'd get a closer view, but another 30 minutes of watching proved fruitless. I folded up the scope's tripod, intending to walk up the road a bit to get a view from the other side of the trees. We were halfway back to the road when I saw him unfold his great wings and head skyward again. He flew around while Dawn and I invited him to come closer. Still, we had excellent views through the binoculars and camera, and I've have been more than happy with that, but he swung around and headed almost directly for us. Joy turned to glee as he passed us and landed in a tree only 50 meters away, in clear view!
          

Dawn was as giddy as a kid in a candy store. Not knowing how close we might get before spooking him, we elected to stay put. I found a convenient spot and sat down for a more stable shooting position. Our jubiliation wasn't shared by a local crow, though. He landed below the eagle and began a verbal harrassment that soon turned physical:
          

          

The eagle, regal creature that he is, ignored the other's insults. After a time the crow decided there was no point to further moslestation, and it quit the field, leaving the eagle to enjoy his perching. We took full advantage, resetting the scope for some great viewing:
     

Earlier I had tried digiscoping some shots of the female in the nestbox, but my Kodak DX6490 had trouble focusing given the small practical aperture of the camera/scope combination. I had better results with the male, brightly limned as he was by the late afternoon sun. They're quite a bit softer than the shots from my Canon 20D, but you can get a fair look at him nonetheless:
          

Our first visit was a smashing success, and it certainly won't be our last. We're looking forward to getting a look at the eaglet(s) after hatching, and with a bit of luck, we might catch some fledging activity.

Of Peregrines None

... but there were birds to be seen. Kaver took off for the Frontier Communications radio tower before I got outside at lunchtime today, and there he stayed. Mariah, too, was a no-show, preferring to spend the noon hour hunkered down with her eggs. That left Dan Stiehler, Shaky, Dana, Sue, Carol, Cornpoppy and me to find other birds upon which to focus our attention. On the eastern side of the gorge wall, this Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)was napping on her downy nest:
     

We don't know how many eggs she's brooding, but her nest is within easy view from the Pont de Rennes bridge, so we should have a front row seat as she raises her young. Significant numbers of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) were the only flyers of note. This female American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) stayed put on a rusted pipework superstructure atop one of the BeeBee station buildings:
     

At the end of our uneventful watch, a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) flew right past me into a tree:


I don't see them very often, so I was glad to be able to get a shot at close range.

Of Flickers and Falcons

A few days ago I awoke to the cacophony of World War III. Either that, or a construction company had taken up residence on my roof. The racket reverberated through the entire house. Determined to find the source of the disturbance, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. Here's what I found:
     
This Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) had been hammering away on the metal cap atop my chimney. He flew from the chimney into a tree almost as soon as I walked out into the yard, where he was joined by his lady friend. She flew deep into the branches, so I couldn't get a good shot of her, and both of them took off soon afterward.

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There's no connection, but Kaver and Mariah were out flying today. At lunchtime, Kaver was perched on one of the lilies. Larry, Shaky & Carol were out in the Kodak Visitor parking lot when I arrived. Greg was there too, with his new 500mm telephoto lens, mounted on gimbal-equipped Gitzo carbon fiber tripod. He's got a great photo setup, and I'm sure he'll be able to grab some incredible shots with it this year. Kaver left the lily and flew to the nestbox for a brooding shift change, and Mariah took off a moment later, making a short circuit before landing on the southeast corner of the playpen:
          
We noticed the gaps in her primaries, and surmized that she might be in the midst of a molt. She left the tower and flew to the High Falls smokestack, where she spent most of the noon hour:


Her return flight to the tower ended in a landing on the 17^th floor ledge on the south facade of the building:
     
There she stayed until we had to leave for the afternoon. Tomorrow promises more clear skies even warmer weather than today, so I imagine I'll have more photos to post. Stay tuned...