I responded to a “twitch” that didn’t pan out. I read that 10 Sandhill Cranes were seen at 9 am on Thanksgiving day. I wasn’t able to get out to the area (forty miles west of my home in the Mississippi Delta) until Friday. The Cranes had long since departed but I was greeted by the Shrike in the title photo and was able to get this video.
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Thankfully, the Shrike was a FOS (first of season) sighting for me. So, I considered this a successful twitch. There were other great birds there so I took a couple of hours recording them.
This Red-tail Hawk was a wonderful subject.
Atop a power pole, searching for breakfast
Knocking the sleep from it’s eyes
Finally, the launch
No Luck, new perch and the look of disappointment
I like when I see a bird use subtle body posture to communicate a thought. This Savannah Sparrow gave me cues in the following photos that I was upsetting him by pointing the “big eye” in his direction.
Just minding his own business, but noticed the camera lens and froze in place.
The side glance
A quick turn to confront “the Beast”
The slightest shift, and ready to charge with the fury of eagles.
I quickly turned away from the Sparrow. I saw that I was upsetting him and didn’t want to get flogged by tiny furious wings.
As I looked for other subjects, I became aware of the low but constant songs, chirps and calls of birds scouring the newly harvested soybean fields. Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds, Starlings, Killdeer and American Pipits were each communicating.
Eastern Meadowlark
I didn’t have a photo of a Pipit and took this series for identification.
looking for soybeans among the field stubble
Noticed me watching and took to the power lines above
Safely above me, but keeping a wary eye out.
I saw another “sky hunter” in a Sweet Gum surveying the fields for it’s own breakfast. I was able to get close enough for photos without disrupting it’s space. I wasn’t sure of the species until it flew to another perch. Here was my encounter.
The intense gaze
The leap to another tree
Finally, a look at the front of the bird and the Red-tail reveals his species.
That was all I captured while in the Delta fields. I remembered (after I started compiling this diary) that I had footage from Sardis Lake that I didn’t show. It is a sequence of sorts and deserves it’s time.
It began with a juvenile Bald Eagle cruising over the lower lake looking for meal.
The eagle did something quite unexpected. He landed on a sandbar occupied by resting Pelicans. Here is the video of that event.
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That is what I have encountered recently. I hope you all have had good outings and will show any of your own events.
