[wisb] Recent bird sightings/photos from up north- Harlan's & partial albino RT Hawk, and much more!

From: Erik Bruhnke <birdfedr@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 01:37:11 -0500
Over this past week, there has been a great assortment of fun bird
happenings occurring here in Duluth; starting off with some of the
hawkwatching sightings from this past week. I think that tomorrow could be a
very interesting (in a good way) type of day, with songbirds and raptors
alike moving through the Twin Ports area up here! Right now there is not a
cloud in the sky from my house in Duluth... so the songbirds have an
overhead map to follow as they make their way north. Clear nights during
migration often leads to songbird flights, especially when those clear
nights are located within days of crummier, cloudier weather. Tomorrow's
conditions up here are sustained winds from the southwest, which really
keeps the raptors hugging tight to the tip of Lake Superior (and providing
good views) as they make their way around the bend, and head north through
far northern MN. Cloudy conditions and steady winds will prevent strong
thermals from forming, so the flight of birds could be relatively low. Hawk
migration, as well as songbird migration... and observing/tallying-up these
birds is so exciting!

*HAWK COUNTING* this past week:
*Daily counts/season totals can be found here:
https://www.hawkcount.org/month_summary.php?rsite=543

Cooper's Hawk, doing the courtship display:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661266
... The accipiters (Sharp-shinned, Coopers, and Goshawk) do a courtship
display this time of year, if you're lucky to see it. The females fly way up
high in the air, in a full soar; flapping intermittently here and there. The
big things about this display is that the undertail coverts are fanned out,
and they are visible even at a slightly distance, when seen through optics.
I observed this at Sax-Zim Bog about two weeks ago with two Northern Goshawk
circling just above the tree top, and the Cooper's Hawk in this photograph
is showing the fanned undertail coverts. The wingbeats are unique during
this display, as the bird flaps almost in the same fashion as a Short-eared
Owl or Northern Harrier (very smooth, and fluid downbeat to the wingbeat,
and almost no sense of being rushed/urgent with the flapping speed). It's
cool to see. Keep your eyes out!

Turkey Vulture (one of my favorite Vulture shots so far)
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661275

Bald Eagle:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661269
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661263
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661259

Bald Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661264

Of course there's a gull in here... Ring-billed Gull flying past the hawk
counting site:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133661268

Partial Albino Red-tailed Hawk
Here are some documenting shots of this bird. I was at Thompson Hill (the
western-most spring hawkwatching site in Duluth), looking at the lake, when
suddenly something caught my peripheral vision in the northeast direction. A
white (yet red-tailed) bird flew by. It was fun to see this bird zip by so
closely. It couldn't have been more than 150 feet out as it passed over the
road, just a little above eye-level. I didn't have my camera out in time,
but grabbed the camera, and quickly sprinted down the hill, to see if I
could get a few document-able photos. Here are some shots of that bird,
which were taken as it was circling a great distance away:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133579551
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133579553
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133579555

*In addition to the partial albino Red-tailed Hawk sighting, another one of
my most exciting bird-moments of the year for me happened just a few days
ago while counting raptors here in Duluth. My hawkwatching buddy Dave Carman
pointed out a distant dark tail (dark morph Red-tailed Hawk). We gazed at
it, in awe at it's beauty. Dave told me to keep my eyes on this bird, as it
may be a HARLAN'S RED-TAILED HAWK. We had our eyes glued to our scope
eyepieces, watching the bird soon soar by, make a few turns around in the
air to spiral up in traces of thermal and updraft activity. When it banked
around, it showed off a gorgeous silvery-gray tail (at a distance). What a
stunning bird! Up until then, I had never seen a Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk
before that day! Harlan's Red-tailed Hawks are very interesting... they are
a subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk, that breed in far NW Canada and into
Alaska, and overwinter in select areas throughout the lower 48 states,
primarily in the southeast. In addition to the unique range of this
Red-tailed Hawk, this species had an incredibly wide-variety of
colorations/patterns throughout the tail. Some are very gray-tailed, some
are red-tailed, and the coarse details throughout their tails is just
stunning. This past fall, I got to meet Bill Clark, a well known raptor
specialist. Here is one of his articles on Harlan's Red-tailed Hawks (if
you're interested in reading more about this unique variety of Red-tailed
Hawk) :-)
http://www.aba.org/birding/v41n1p30.pdf


Over the past week, I've been to *Sax-Zim Bog* three differenttimes to show
different sets of people around. It is very new-arriving birds in the bog,
as well as the absence of certain species (like Pine Grosbeaks, which have
left the areas as a whole, several weeks ago). One of the most charming
sightings recently was seeing a Dark-eyed Junco singing atop a Black Spruce
in the bog. Sharp-tailed Grouse are making regular appearances, and the
raptors are really showing up in good numbers. I have a sweet-spot for
Rough-legged Hawks, and had about FORTY ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in one day while
visiting the bog!! Males and females of both light and dark morphs alike are
being seen. One gorgeous male Hoary Redpoll is still lingering around with
the Common Redpolls. I love the male Hoary Redpolls. That light pink wash on
the front of them is just stunning against the silvery snow-white belly, and
of course the gray wings with bold white wing bars. In addition to the
playful Black-billed Magpies, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, and
Gray Jay... another huge moment that I got to soak up (with goosebumps,
nonetheless), was witnessing a Great Gray Owl fly by, and land about 60 feet
from us late at night. We could just see a big, round silouette literally
fly by, and perch on one of the gorgeous rotted-out Black Spruce trees.
Fellow Wisconsin Birdwatcher Mary Maertz (and family) were with me when this
Great Gray Owl finale took place. The owl, after landing and perching for a
brief moment on the spruce branch, gave deep, powerful hoots; calling in our
direction. The sight of a Great Gray up close is enough to make you smile
beyond your cheeks... and seeing the Great Gray Owl call just added to the
already stellar moment!

Great Gray Owl:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667973
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667975


In case you missed the video of the Northern Hawk Owl giving the begging
call from a few weeks ago, here is my digiscoped video I recorded. The
female gives this begging call in late winter, asking for some
shared-mice-treats and friendship from the male :-)
http://naturallyavian.blogspot.com/2011/03/female-northern-hawk-owl-giving-begging.html

And here is the other video (much more recent) of the Northern Hawk Owls
giving a typical "trilling" call. Enjoy!
http://naturallyavian.blogspot.com/2011/03/northern-hawk-owl-giving-trilling-call.html


Here are some of my favorite photos from the past week at the bog. Enjoy!

American Robin:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667968

"Gray Ghost" - Adult Male Northern Harrier:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667977
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667979

Arctic Fluffballs - Rough-legged Hawks, starting with 1 dark morph, then
light morph:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667981
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667988
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667983
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667986

Sharp-tailed Grouse - with a cute, fluffy little behind:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133668008

Snow Bunting:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133667993



From about 2 weeks ago at the bog:
Black-billed Magpie taking off:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463401

Gray Jay:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463405

Black-capped Chickadee:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463404

Northern Hawk Owl (these photos are in the order which they were taken, from
being relaxed, to preening, itch on the face, diving, and coming up with a
catch!)
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463406
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463411
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463415
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463418
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463409
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463407
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463422
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133463420 (close up with vole in mouth!)

Common Redpoll:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323605

Northern Hawk Owl (first photo is one of my personal favorite Hawk Owl pics,
followed by a picture of Black-backed Woodpecker with the Hawk Owl)
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323613
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323601
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323611
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323609
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323610

Northern Harrier:
http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/133323616


Good birdwatching,
Erik Bruhnke
Duluth, MN


-- 
*NATURALLY AVIAN* - Bird photography and guided birdwatching tours
www.pbase.com/birdfedr
www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com
birdfedr@xxxxxxxxx


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[wisb] Recent bird sightings/photos from up north- Harlan's & partial albino RT Hawk, and much more!

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