A young second-year “white-belly” Bald Eagle gliding just above the snow not far outside Paul’s open car window. Focusing on the eagle’s flight as it glided in, the eagle dropped its legs as if to land. Sure enough, the young eagle swept its wings forward to brake its flight and landed just outside the window. Now the young Bald Eagle stood strong and healthy before me; a most impressive animal to behold at such close quarters – what a treat!

Lulled into a relaxed train of thought, it was as if the tranquil snowy scene before me exploded as my car cleared the top of a hillside, surprising 2 Bald Eagles and myself with long eagle wings flapping as I braked my car to a stop. Well aware I was alone on this remote rural road, I quickly pulled to the side, stopped, and watched for a sign of the eagles – an adult and a young second-year “white-belly” Bald Eagle. A movement close outside my open window quickly caught my attention – it was the young eagle gliding just above the snow.

I twisted in my seat to focus on the eagle’s flight with my camera lens as it glided in, dropped its legs and swept its wings forward to brake and land – not far outside my open window – WoW! Just as I photographed its approach and landing, I continued taking a few photos as it stood strong and healthy before me; a most impressive animal to behold at such close quarters; what a treat!

As it turned its head to look behind it, the wind blew the young eagle’s nape feathers into a crest on the back of its head, giving it an even bolder look. Then it turned forward again and took flight. Winging low away from me, it banked to the side to gain elevation, showing its backside before it caught a gust of wind that propelled the eagle in my direction, too close to fit the full length of the bird’s broad wings into the photo frame. The action was happening so fast that I couldn’t re-zoom my lens, so just concentrated on keeping the eagle’s face in my camera’s photo frame while intently holding the shutter release button down to take a series of images of the eagle’s dramatic flight.

A moment after the eagle swept by me, I first came to the realize the position of the roadside food the eagles were focused on was almost directly beyond my right front headlight. In my rearview mirror I saw the young eagle land on a rise a short distance behind my car, and still reeling from the excitement of photographing the fast action in rapid succession, I realized my good luck was based on stopping close to the roadkill food source – which was not intentional. That’s when I realized I was keeping the eagles from returning to feed, so I started the engine and motored down the road to the next hilltop to stop and check on the scene behind me.

The young eagle was already back to feeding, obviously hungry during its push northward into the Dakota snow zone. But I also found myself consumed by the dramatic scene before me; a favorite landscape of rugged rolling hills, now pristine white as it’s covered in feet of bright snow. Pondering that perhaps the adult eagle would return, I also imagined that perhaps the sub-adult eagle was prospering by being able to feed unchallenged for a time. At that point I left the remote hilltop to continue my birding drive.

Although the only other raptor sighting prior to the eagle surprise was a Red-tailed Hawk, I observed 2 other Red-tails separately, 1 more adult Bald Eagle, and a male Northern Harrier on the hunt that flushed a Sharp-tailed Grouse, but it didn’t give chase. There were also other Sharp-tails in groups of 4, 3, and 1. Four flocks of Canada Geese flying above the snow-covered ice of a big lake signified a major ‘first of spring sighting’ and a definite spring breakthrough – and there was a Cackling Goose in one flock, noticeably much smaller than the Canadas. There were also 14 groups of Ring-necked Pheasants numbering between 15 and 1, and a lone American Crow rounded out my sightings for the day – but there were no Ferruginous Hawks.

Ferruginous Hawks!

The day before, on my way to Bismarck, I drove straight west to the Missouri River, then north expecting to see migrating Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks, maybe a couple American Kestrels, and maybe a surprise or 2 along the way. Indeed, in the hilly landscape before reaching the river, in the heart of the Missouri Coteau, there were 6 big surprises in the form of Ferruginous Hawks. The first Ferrug surprised me in that I thought it was a Red-tail, but quickly realized it was a much rarer Ferruginous Hawk.

After seeing this Ferrug, I thought it would be interesting to check on a Ferruginous Hawk nest I check regularly, located about 6 miles to the north. There would be a chance a Great Horned Owls might have usurped the hawk nest, but as I drove by the nest was in good repair, but empty. I turned around to return to the main highway, and that’s when I sighted a distant hawk silhouette against the clear sky. I grabbed my binoculars as the hawk flew closer, and sure enough, it was a Ferrug; and in another moment, a smaller male dived into the scene.

Both of the regal hawks circled beyond the nest, then the male dived in a big U-shaped curve, rising to the female’s elevation. When he was within a few feet of the female, she flipped over to meet the male by extending her talons as he dropped his legs and raised his feet in response. I photographed the action from a distance, but the photos didn’t turn out well; that seems to be the rule for these photo attempts, although they have been a bit too distant also. The hawks flew northward, one landing on a low rise, and in response I decided it was best to head out as Ferrugs can be sensitive to perceived disturbances during the early pre-nesting period. I was excited to see the pair on territory and witness the display between them.

It was a full half-hour later before I found another raptor, and it too was a Ferruginous Hawk. A quick glance ahead revealed another Ferrug perched 30 yards away, and moments later yet another Ferrug was evident less than a half-mile away. That was my 6th Ferruginous Hawk sighting, clearly a show of a migration into this area. The Missouri Coteau geologic subregion is the most important nesting region for Ferruginous Hawks in the Great Plains, stretching from the Dakotas to eastern Alberta, so it’s hard to say where each of these hawks will end up during the nesting season, but central North Dakota is a good bet.

I just wish there was a better rodent prey base for them to access now as ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and other preferred prey were still hidden below deep snow that has accumulated since November without a serious thaw. We are at 150+ days since the temperature last reached 40 degrees, but that streak must end soon. Other birds along my Bismarck route last Wednesday included an American Kestrel, a Red-tailed Hawk, 7 Wild Turkeys, a flock of 8 Gray Partridges, and scattered flocks of Ring-necked Pheasants. Those observations indicate little migration activity, aside from a dark morph Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk perched along the Missouri River about 30 miles south of the capitol city.

Saturday I drove a favorite raptor drive that included the initial area where I observed the first 3 Ferruginous Hawks observed Wednesday; however, no Ferrugs were to be seen. Even so, I did find a lot of single raptors: 5 adult Red-tailed Hawks and 4 adult Bald Eagles, some perched, some in flight northbound.

Sunday Juncos

The number of Dark-eyed Juncos visiting my feeding station has been increasing to the point where I see up to 7 juncos at a time outside my bay windows. They add a lot of new life to the sparse variety of birds that wintered here this season, including their high-pitched songs. To keep the juncos coming, I’ve been spreading shelled sunflower seeds on the snow drifts surrounding my feeders, as the juncos don’t utilize my hopper feeder or platform feeder, much less my suet feeder. The snow-based sunflower seeds and the junco activities probably did a lot to attract another new bird Sunday – an American Tree Sparrow, although it turned out to be a one-sighting wonder, so far.

After the strong wind died down late in the afternoon, I ventured a short distance to the south, but only spied a Red-tailed Hawk 3 miles away. But at the 4 mile mark I was surprised to see a pair of Giant Canada Geese standing tall as if on territory overlooking a vast frozen marsh. It was probably wishful thinking by the geese, especially considering the last big blizzard of the season has consumed both Dakotas today along a wide swath from Utah to Wisconsin as I send this issue off for e-publication. I’m ready to trade this white world in for a green world, even a tan or gray world; but I’d really be glad to have a world filled with the sights and sounds of thousands of geese – soon to come! Enjoy your week.

Article and photos by Paul Konrad

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