January 2011 Bird of the Month Northern Harrier

During the winter months a drive through the wetlands in Utah you are sure to see large numbers of slender long-tailed hawks flying low just above the cattails and Phragmites then all of the sudden drop down out of sight. These slender owl faced hawks are Northern Harriers. 

Unlike other hawks, the Northern Harrier relies on its hearing as well as its vision to capture prey. The feathers of the face are stiff to help transmit sound, and it shows a pronounced "facial disk," much like that of an owl.

Male Northern Harrier

Male Description

Head, back, and upper chest light gray, wing-tips black. Line of black on rear of wings. Underwings white. Tail darkish gray above and whitish below, with some barring. Rump white.

Female Harrier eating a Common Merganser  

Their most notable field mark is the white band on the rump at the base of it's tail. One of my favorite pass-times in winter is to watch these graceful birds hunt for voles at Farmington Bay.

Hunting Voles at Farmington Bay

The Northern Harrier feeds primarily on mice, voles and small birds. It will, however, take larger prey, such as rabbits and ducks. It has been known to subdue large prey by drowning it. I watched one take a fish out of the water one time.

Female Description

Back dark brown, with many feathers edged with tawny. Face streaked brown and whitish. Face outlined by white facial disk. Chest and belly streaked  tan. Rump white. Upper side of wings brown, lower side barred white and dark brown. Tail brown with dark bars.

• Most male Northern Harriers are mated to one or two females at the same time. Some males pair with up to five mates in a season. Females incubate the eggs and brood the offspring, while the male provides the bulk of the food for his mates and their nestlings.

Wood Ducks and More

On the birding hotline list serve that I subscribe to someone sent an e-mail out asking where to see Wood Ducks in the Salt Lake area, the reply was Bues Park in Ogden would be a sure bet. I have only seen Wood Duck in the wild once many years ago and I had no pictures so I decided to follow that recomendation and went out to Bues Park this morning. Not only did I find Wood ducks but many birds as well.
I spotted the following birds at Bues Park.
Wood Duck
Mallard
Canada Goose
Yellow-rumped Warbler
 Dark Eyed Junco
Pine Siskin
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
American Robin
Northern Flicker
Black-capped Chickadee
House Finch
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-billed Magpie
It is a beautiful little park and I will be sure to return.
Here are some more pictures:

Mallard

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Wood Ducks

Squirrel

Northern Flicker

Waterfowl at Kaysville Pond

On the way back home I stopped at Kaysville pond which is always a sure bet in the winter for Hooded Mergansers.
Birds seen at Kaysville Pond:
Canada Geese
Mallards
Hooded Mergansers
Ring-necked Duck
American Wigeon
Pied-billed Grebe
Song Sparrow
Eurasian Collared Dove
Ring-billed Gull
American Crow
Here are few pictures from Kaysville Pond

There were six pair of Hooded Mergansers but they wouldn't come in close here are three of them swimming with the geese

Canada Geese with American Wigeon

Mallard Wigeon and American Coot

Canada Goose and Pied-billed Grebe

Mallards

Canada Goose

It was a bitter cold but beautiful morning and the birds were active, it was a wonderful time.

2010 Birds of the Month

This marks two years of blogging about birds, each month I have selected a bird to spotlight as bird of the month. Here are the birds of the month for 2010.

January 2010 Dark-eyed Junco

February 2010 American Kestrel

March 2010 Downy Woodpecker

April 2010 Great Blue Heron

May 2010 Snowy Egret

June 2010 Cinnamon Teal

July 2010 Red-winged Blackbird

August 2010 Yellow-headed Blackbird

September 2010 Wilson's Phalarope

October 2010 Sandhill Crane

November 2010 Red-tailed Hawk

December 2010 Rough-legged Hawk

Another Milestone

My biggest milestone this year birding-wise was to have finally reached 300 birds on my life list. What made it even more awesome for me was that I got my 300th bird The Black Redstart in Como Italy. On our trip to Europe I logged over 30 new life birds.

MY 300th Bird the Black Redstart first seen in Como Italy. This photo was taken in Weihern Germany

My next milestone thanks to my wonderful wife Nery, yesterday we reached 3000 hits on this blog. I have had hits from every state in the US and so many countries around the world, on all of the continents except Antarctica. 

My thanks to Nery for spreading the word and my thanks to all of you for taking time to look at my Birding Blog.

If you are not a birder I hope it has helped you have a greater appreciation for the important roles birds play in our world and for their beauty.

Here are a few of my favorite photos this year

Great Tit Nuremberg Germany

Blue Tit Nuremberg Germany

Hermit Thrush Antelope Island Great Salt Lake Utah

Blue-winged Teal Farmington Bay Utah

Long-billed Curlew Antelope Island Great Salt Lake Utah

California Gull Eating Brine Flies on Antelope Island

Snowy Egret Farmington Bay Utah

Cinnamon Teal Farmington Bay Utah

Rough-legged Hawk December 2010 Bird of the Month

My pick for bird of the month for December is our wintering Buteo the Rough-legged Hawk. Winter is raptor time in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, though the Swainson's Hawks have gone south for the winter the Red-tails, Harriers, Kestrels, Short-eared Owls, Great Horned Owls and even Barn Owls our permanent residents are more visible than any other time of year. In addition the Rough-legged Hawks, Merlins and Bald Eagles come from the North Country to enjoy our balmy winters.

Rough-legged hawks are abundant at Farmington Bay from November through March. I think they have  the most beautiful markings of any raptor under their wings as they soar overhead. 

The Rough-legged Hawk breeds in Arctic tundra and taiga regions around the northern hemisphere. 

Description

• Large Buteo.
• Wings long and broad.
• Flight feathers pale, with dark trailing edge to wings.
• Black wrists marks.
• Tail broad, white at base and broad dark tip.
• Commonly pale, streaked chest and broad dark belly.
• May be all dark, still with pale wing feathers and white at base of tail.

The name "Rough-legged" Hawk refers to it's feathered legs. The Rough-legged Hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk, and the Golden Eagle are the only American raptors to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker

In my opinion, some of the most beautiful birds are woodpeckers. On my life list I have been fortunate enough to have added several species, unfortunately I have not been able to photograph most of them. 

Woodpeckers I have added to my life list are... Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker red and yellow-shafted, Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker and most recently I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker during our trip to Europe. Of all of these I have only been able to photograph, Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers. I am setting a goal of spotting several more species in 2011 and adding many more Woodpecker photos to my library. 

Here are some of the pictures I do have.

Female Downy Woodpecker

Male Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) male

Red-shafted Flicker; not a great picture but it does show the field marks.