Stoney Creek (Wintergreen) 11/27/10


Temperature in the low 30's with very strong winds made for a cold walk and kept most of the birds hunkered down. I ended my hike/drive here with a stop at the pond on Hidden Creek Drive, where I saw only a few birds, but a male and a female Downy Woodpecker were braving the wind, and then a stop at the Rodes Farm pond where a Great Blue Heron flew away as soon as I got out of my car. Don't know if I spooked the heron, or if it was the commotion that had just started when some crows mobbed and flushed out a Red-tailed Hawk.

Most of the aerial combat took place low to the ground and directly above my head, and at one point, one of the crows and the hawk noticed me at the same moment, and for an instant, looked at me instead of watching each other. The hawk circled higher and higher, eventually more than the crows wanted to follow.


female Downy Woodpecker


male Downy Woodpecker


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk


Red-tailed Hawk



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