A bit of driving today trying to see my first Harlequin Duck ever. I finally was able to see him using another birders scope, but no chance of a photo. I couldn’t even see him in the binoculars.
The good news is I also added 4 other new birds to my life list… a Redhead, a Gadwall, Thayer’s Gull and an American Tree Sparrow. Here is a shot of the Redhead next to a couple of Mallards.
Friday, the male Pileated Woodpecker stopped by to eat and this was the 1st time we had seen him since 12-15-08.
Saturday, we had our first sighting of all 3 Pileated Woodpeckers ever. A large male and 2 females (1 a bit smaller) were in and out of the back yard for most of the day. This is a first time we have ever seen 3 at the same time. Great fun but they sure go thru the suet.
We didn’t want to scare them off, so I don’t have any good pictures of all three.
Woke up to a bright sunny day but cold temps, so we decided to try something new. We picked up Zander (our 4 yr old grandson), and drove to the St. Paul U of Mn campus to visit the Minnesota Raptor Center.
The center was founded back in 1974 and has grown into a rehab center handling up to 800 birds annually. Some birds have some chronic condition and cannot be released back into the wild and 30 raptors and one Turkey Vulture are on display.
After a tour of the facility, we watched a raptor program including the feeding of a Great Horned Owl. She swallowed a mouse in about 1.5 seconds.
Images from the visit are posted at RaptorCenter
Snowy Owl
The scientists at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota are having a busy winter. They’re nursing starving birds back to health and setting broken bones. They’re also seeing a lot of snowy owls, as the big white birds are are turning up again in Minnesota.
{Full Story} http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/12/30/raptor_troubles/
by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio, December 30, 2008
Pileated male
I have had a wonderful year learning bird species and how to photograph them. As 2008 comes to a close, I wondered which ones were my favorites. There have been so many great moments both here in the backyard and out and about. I’ve met new friends and neighbors. I attended my 1st Audubon meeting and participated in my first Christmas Bird Count. We visited the Audubon Sanctuary on Dauphin Island in Alabama and I watched my wife talk to a Northern Parula. We watched as a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers ate suet in our back yard. With so many precious moments, how do you pick just one?
Scarlet Tanager
If I had to pick my favorite, the most colorful memory for me was this past spring when a dozen or so Scarlet Tanagers showed up in our back yard during their migration flight north.
Wood Duck young
We live next to the Crepeau Nature Area, and have counted over 70 different species there during the year. One of our favorite resident species is the Wood Duck.
I have pulled together an assortment of my favorite 2008 moments if you’d like to see more at Best of 2008 Gallery.
May 2009 bring you great joy and happiness and enjoy the magic in the everyday experience.
