Hi all, On my walk up Mt Pleasant Road around 3:00 this afternoon, I saw the following:
Rough-legged Hawk, the first of the season, flying near the observatory. At one point it landed on the snowy ground, scaring up a flock of 11 Snow Buntings. Later I watched as the hawk swooped along low to the ground and then snatched up a small, dark creature, presumably some rodent. Since mid-morning, there have been impressive numbers of Canada Geese and American Crows in the recently mowed (post harvesting) corn fields at the east end of Mt Pleasant Rd, likely because the strong winds of the last few days have prevented deep snow build-up, so there is bare ground with corn cobs or other potential foods visible. In one patch I saw 6 Horned Larks. Also a Downy Woodpecker on the ground checking out corn cobs and stems. Marie Marie Read Wildlife Photography 452 Ringwood Road Freeville NY 13068 USA Phone 607-539-6608 e-mail m...@cornell.edu http://www.marieread.com Author of Sierra Wings: Birds of the Mono Lake Basin Available here: http://marieread.photoshelter.com/gallery/Sierra-Wings-Birds-of-the-Mono-Lake-Basin/G0000NlCxX37uTzE/C0000BPFGij6nLfE -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --