Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal
What species of birds are being seen around the lakes?
Back in April we saw three brown Eagle-like birds. I thought at the time they were Hawks, but they definitely were not. If they were Eagles, they were immature. I have been told it is possible they were Northern Harriers...
|
There
were two Northern Harriers flying together low over my dock two weeks ago. Formerly known as "Marsh Hawks", they were a mottled brown with a prominent white area near their tails. At 24" tall, and a 42" wingspan, they are a pretty big bird -- Osprey-sized -- but with less wingspan. They were being harrassed by a pair of our many Kingbirds, who usually can be seen pecking at the heads of crows -- while riding on their backs!
Last year, my family and I were sitting around and I pointed out that the woods were "in a dither". The wood's best alarmists -- chipmunks, blue jays, and robins -- were raising a major fuss.
We moved as a group to the sounds, and were greeted by a high-pitched whistle. (As loud and as high as one can make a single-note whistle will duplicate it).
It was a harrier sitting on a low branch and our
forest robins -- no shrinking violets either, unlike our
lawn robins -- were dive-bombing it. It flew away after five minutes of dodging robin attacks.
(In nesting season, a hawk gets no respect).