March 15, 2005
Falcated Duck for breakfast, Hawk Owl for dinner!
A series of fortunate coincidences allowed me to join Joan Humphrey and Lisa Hug on a weekend trip to Oregon and northeast California. Having dipped the 'undippable' Falcated Duck at Coburg back in January, we didn't fancy our chances of seeing the bird this late in the year. However, we were delighted to be proved wrong, and the bird gave spectacular views alongside American Wigeon and Aleutian Cackling Goose on its favourite pond.
Is the bird displaying in this picture?
After a gorgeous drive across the Cascades we arrived in Bend to seek out the wintering Hawk Owl. It was surprisingly warm here, and 3 hours of scanning the burnt juniper forest yielded no sighting. Fortunately, there were plenty of interesting birds in the neighbourhood to keep us occupied. A Townsend's Solitaire and a stunning male Mountain Bluebird came about as close as my scope would focus!
A large flock of Pinyon Jays circled the hill once in a while (only my second encounter of this elusive species).
This male Merlin was wreaking havoc amongst the local House Finch population.
After some fantastic Greek food we decided to try our luck with the Hawk Owl again at dusk. To the great relief of everyone present, the bird put on a wonderful display over the next hour, giving close-up perched and flight views.
This wraps up a wonderful winter for owls for me - if I could just find Saw-whet and Barred I'll have the full set of North American owls!
Posted by rjhall at March 15, 2005 2:23 AMEnjoyed talking to you while waiting for the Hawk Owl to show up. Nice pictures!
Pam