Mr. Harris I Presume... - #134

Well an absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon birding the back roads of Wayne County. I started off from Winesburg and headed up CR 652 looking for Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs. I was immediately rewarded with a great view of a Rough-legged Hawk (year bird #41).

Winding my way along 241, Kidron Rd. and 250 I evenyualy found my way to Bear Hollow Rd. on the chase for the Harris Sparrow that's been listed on the Bobolink Rare Bird Alert for quite awhile now. I wasn't disappointed! The Troyers at 9041 were so gracious to invite me right in and tell me the good news. It's been about 4 days that they hadn't seen the bird and thought it might have left. But the sunny weather brought it back and it was showing itself all day. I got a great look at the young bird amidst White-crowned Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Hairy, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. A really nice family and a great bird... if ONLY I had a camera! One day soon, I hope.

Harris's Sparrow, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Off I went once again to chase Snow Buntings on Cutter Rd. No dice there either but I did get to see a hunting Cooper's Hawk in action. He flew right over the top of my van and the perched in full view on top of an arbor in the middle of someone's yard. There he was in all his glory for a few moments and then BANG, it hit the feeder area scattering birds in every direction! What an awesome sight. I am personally considering putting out signs near the bush in my backyard where the House Sparrows roost - "Cooper's Welcome, Free Lunch!" Oh well :) Also saw plenty of Horned Lark in many locations which is always great too.

Finally with the day winding down I headed back on Emerson and took a freezing walk in the woods at Kidron Park to see if I could lay specks on the Red-breasted Nuthatch. The first hing I heard when I got out of the van was the local Barred Owl! I only have one owl on my life list so my hopes were high. Did I say it was really cold? Well I didn't last long in those beautiful woods. What a great hidden gem and a fantastic feeding area tucked into the trees. I think I MAY have seen the owl - quite a large bird flying off through the trees but I definitely want another shot. No Nuthatch either, but I'm sure to be back with more layers on!

That's all for now. Still plenty of great birds to see so get out there!


View 1/23/11 in a larger map

Photo Credits: SriMesh