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| Sunset aflame - view from back deck April 21, 2013 |
Every day should be Earth Day. That said, if there’s any day to make an effort to get outside and observe the natural world around you, today should be that day.
I celebrated early, as in yesterday, because of the weekend. I packed up my binoculars and my scope, took a few snacks and a cup of coffee and went outside to see if I could find any migrating hawks. Earlier in the week I had some hope that Sunday might turn out to be a good migration day. By the time the day rolled around, however, the calm winds turned into a 17 mph wind and worse, that wind was from the ENE, certainly near the very bottom of the worst possible directions for a spring hawk count. But I went anyway.
Early in the day I did see a few hardy migrants, likely birds that roosted in or around Roundtop before continuing their northward journey. An Osprey was perched atop a zip line pole, waiting for fish. One of the local redtails soon appeared, looking for breakfast. A Cooper’s hawk zoomed by, intent on some prey in the cover of the forest.
The first barn swallows put in an appearance and a few more tree swallows were added to my season total. The crows were riled up about something, as were the blue jays. A light frost had occurred overnight, and the wind made the temperature feel just this side of brutal. I stayed until my gloved hands started feeling numb. By then, the early morning rush of birds had slowed, and I was ready for a cup of hot chocolate!
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2 comments:
Kali and I observed a Veery from about 10 feet way on our Sunday walk. It was in perfect position for a photograph, but flew away when I lifted the camera. As I was grumbling, Kali reminded me that "you'd fly away too if someone were pointing something at you"!
Lucky you to see a veery that close! I missed a shot of turkeys the other day because I only had my normal lens and not my telephoto. Such is life!
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