Is there a better way to start winter break than shooting a red-breasted nuthatch off your back porch in the falling snow? I'm not sure there is.
Well, the cat is out of the bag. I am home for a month! The lack of content lately has been due to the boatloads of school work I had to get through before the year ended. That, and lack of subjects. There are just so many more birds around here in Warwick than there are in Oneonta. All of the raptors seem to get out of town and head south. Although, hawk watching this fall was incredible. I am surely not complaining!
I came home Friday afternoon, and was greeted by a young cooper's hawk that has apparently taken over my property in the last month or so. The bird was super cooperative, allowing for a ton of nice photo opportunities:
When I woke up the next morning, he was sitting in our smoke tree right next to our pool. I have a weird feeling that this might become an everyday thing.
In other news, we've had well over 200 golden eagles thus far at Franklin Mountain Hawk Watch. Sadly, I won't be there for the remaining few weeks. But luckily (!!!) I was one of the counters helping out on the 2nd largest golden eagle day in the history of the hawk watch, with 57 birds in one day! Talk about incredible... I am so glad I was able to be a part of a historic day. It was surely amazing. There will be plenty more golden eagles in my future, as I am working on an independent research project next semester involving wintering goldens and their behavior in our region. More to come on that.
Just a quick update today. You will be hearing much more from me in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned!
Stay warm!
Kyle