Friday, 2:30 p.m. saw Common, & Red-Breasted Mergansers on Pierce Lake, East end, also, Great Blue Heron in not much open water.
March 2008
Monthly Archive
Fri 14 Mar 2008
Sun 9 Mar 2008
Heard a calling bluebird around the house, so I decided to take a drive and look around the Pecatonica area today from 2-4 p.m. Found 3 Northern Shrikes (Fish Hatchery Rd. just E of Four Lakes FP, Pec Wetlands FP (just opposite the parking lot for the wetland restoration on Blair Rd, and another on the Stephenson County side of the intersection of Blair and Goeke Rds), 4 Rough-legged Hawks, several pairs of E. Bluebirds, including a pair hunting for food in the open patches of water w/vegetation on Blair Rd. near the wetland restoration parking lot. A pair of Sandhill Cranes was flying and calling at the same spot, as was a Blue Jay imitating a Red-shouldered Hawk, and a small flock of 7 Song Sparrows and a pair of cock Pheasants.
Mammal highlights were a living possum on the side of the road (at the spring on Blair Rd. in Pec Wetlands FP) and a squirrel (deceased) in the talons of an adult Red-tailed Hawk in the same general vicinity on my return trip.
Tue 4 Mar 2008
A Northern Shrike was still at the parking lot of Olson Lake at Rock Cut SP at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. Dave Johnson and Steve Bailey are going to write an article for IOS Meadowlark on the shrike invasion this winter, so please continue to post your shrike reports to this blog and I’ll see that they are relayed to Dave and Steve. I will be curious to see how long the shrikes stay here before migrating back north.
Mon 3 Mar 2008
Yesterday and today there has been an imm. dark morph Red-tailed Hawk hunting in a large field on the east side of Perryville Road just south of Spring Creek road and JMK Nippon restaurant. It often perches on a First Rockford Group sign in the field which augurs poorly for the habitat that the bird is using. But, for now, it’s catching and eating voles. It’s a striking bird - all chocolate brown with pale eyes and silver undersides to the flight feathers. As it is an immature the tail is dark brown, not red.
We got our first Fox Sparrow of the season at our feeders today. I know others have had them weeks ago but its SO fun to see it out there scritching around!