FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] RPT Ballard Area

["Scott and Glenda Record" <sgrecord@xxxxxxxx>]

Most shallow water is still frozen so very few waterfowl are visible in the 
area except a couple hundred ducks and snow geese that were seen milling around 
the overcast skies.  Besides 2 bald eagles and a rusty blackbird there wasn't 
much to see at Ballard this morning.  However, I did see two interesting birds 
on my way to and from the house this morning.   The first was either a redwing 
or grackle with a great deal of white in its plumage.  It was in a distant 
flock of several thousand blackbirds and I first thought it could be a yellow 
headed.  However it had no yellow but a completely white head, white upperwing 
coverts and some white in the mantle and tail.  I'm leaning strongly towards 
redwing on this one as it appeared that the white in the wings was where you 
would expect to see the red and yellow epaulets.  The other bird was a cooper's 
hawk that let me approach on foot to within 20 feet to take photographs.  I 
thought this quite odd at the time and unfortunately after reviewing the photos 
it is apparent that the bird only has one eye.  Animals are quite adaptable but 
it would seem unlikely to me that a bird that requires binocular vision to 
capture fleeing prey would have much of a chance surviving such an injury.  

Other birds of interest were scattered horned larks, lots of eastern 
meadowlarks and a sharp-shinned hawk.  

Scott Record
Ragland KY