Carolina Wren
I took a few hikes here in Old Trail this week, and was surprised to see only a few avian species, as well as only a few birds in total.
Carolina Wren
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Hermit Thrush
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
It seemed like a perfect day to look for Golden Eagles in the Blue Grass Valley in Highland County. There was bright sun, almost no wind, and temperatures were in the upper 40s; quite unusual for a winter day in an Allegheny mountain valley. In previous years, I had seen Golden Eagles there from early January through early March, and had been told that Turkey Vultures were not there when the Golden Eagles were around. That made it even easier, as a distant flying adult Golden Eagle looks a lot like a distant flying Turkey Vulture. So I met up with Tink Moyer, and we made the 80 mile drive over three mountain ridges and into the Blue Grass Valley. Along the way, we saw our first Red-tailed Hawk of the day.
Soon after turning onto Wimer Mountain Road, a small hawk flew in front of us (Sharp-shinned?), and then we saw a male and female American Kestrel (we would see three or four more kestrels this day).
American Kestrels
We decided to look first along Hardscrabble Road, especially north of Hevener Lane, as this is where I had seen most of the Golden Eagles on previous outings there. In fact, three weeks earlier, five Golden Eagles were reported flying along that road at the same time. I thought we got lucky right away, and then realized we were seeing vultures, both Turkey and Black, and by the time we left, we saw more than 15 vultures.
Black and Turkey Vultures
We got quick looks at a male Northern Harrier, a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk, and at least four more Red-tailed Hawks.
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawk
We saw one distant bird that we could not identify.
Unidentified species
As we drove along Hardscrabble, we stopped when we saw three birds circling in a distant thermal. One of them was a Red-tailed Hawk, and the other two were Bald Eagles.
Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle (Basic III subadult)
Bald Eagle (Juvenile)
But we did not see a single Golden Eagle after three hours, and headed back. Near Churchville, we saw a Merlin perched on a wire across Route 250. We opted to take a look along Bell's Lane in Stuanton, and all we saw there was another Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk
Seeing vultures but not a single Golden Eagle early in February in Blue Grass really puzzled me, so I queried eBird for avian reports along Hardscrabble Road for the past 10 years.
EBird bar chart
I didn't know that Golden Eagles took a two week holiday from there during the middle of February! Always learning something new.