My hopes for an especially early spring were smashed last week after temperatures that peaked at 55 and 57 degree days were smashed by an especially wintery blizzard Wednesday that covered the landscape with bright white snow that blew horizontally and appeared to chase all the migrants beyond my expansive birding reach. But among continuing strong winds and blowing snow Thursday I was surprised to see a male Northern Harrier on the hunt above the highway 20 miles northeast of home on my way to Fargo. On my way back from a birding drive to the south Thursday, another silver hawk crossed the road ahead of me – a male Northern Harrier that seemed to be hunting but was also riding the wind south in earnest.
Whereas a Northern Harrier started my thoughts of an early spring 9 days earlier, followed by many other sightings that I listed last week, it seemed as though the gray hawks were signaling an exodus with the return of winter winds. Beyond the 2 solo raptors, larger flocks of Horned Larks were present and I searched each flock for a Snow Bunting without luck, until a flock of Snow Buntings materialized quite a distance northwest of my office Saturday afternoon. It has been quite a while since there were Snow Buntings in the zone, and after a few more miles I found another Great Horned Owl incubating high in a former hawk nest that was wind-blasted with snow on the north side. This was the second active nest of winter, and the only 2 Great Horned Owls nesting that I've ever recorded during February in the state.
Although the sun was bright and the sky was blue Sunday, after the previous days it really seemed like a stretch to hope to locate a bird of note, but by mid-afternoon I couldn't hold myself back and headed for the front door with my hands filled with my camera, binoculars, an extra hooded coat, and gloves. As I opened the door a largish bird flew low 50 feet in front of me and landed – a Sharp-shinned Hawk! I quickly emptied my hands except for my camera and opened the door again to begin taking a series of photos of the smallish hawk as it watched in every direction for a feeder bird. I was surprised it perched as long as it did, but after taking a second perch to the south, it flew out of sight. I grabbed the rest of my gear and headed for the car to search the area, but didn't relocate the small hawk.
While driving south I only saw 2 Horned Larks before turning back, but turned onto the side road to venture east of my friend Herb's ranch. As I neared my usual turnaround spot I saw a bird on the wing – a Short-eared Owl on the hunt – what a nice surprise. With the sunlight right at mid-afternoon, I followed the owl's active flights until it perched a distance away. I waited, patiently at first, then impatiently; but the owl finally took flight and I followed its moments through my camera lens until I realized it was going to land on a stout post right in front of me – beautiful. I took some photos as the owl settled in, fluffing its plumage to the full extent and making a lower profile on the post to keep as warm as possible in the 4 degree sunshine. Although stationary now, the owl was still on the hunt, watching every direction from its new perch. After some time I decided it didn't look like the owl would take flight again, so I backed up a hundred yards or so to keep from scaring the bird before turning around to drive back to the office; but what a great opportunity, and what an impressive bird.
Thursday I checked back on the owl, but didn't see any action in the area, so extended my drive a few more miles to the east. Almost at the end of my intended drive, a woodpecker flew across the road in front of me, and I was surprised to see it was a Northern Flicker, a first for the year, a female. And when I did reverse course, I observed another woodpecker in flight – a Hairy Woodpecker about 100 yards from where the flicker landed a few minutes before. Next, flocks of Sharp-tailed Grouse materialized in flocks of 19, 14, and 31. And the icing on the cake was a young Rough-legged Hawk hovering at a couple spots as I watched it until it was 3/4-mile away. Birding opportunities appeared to be rebounding a bit more each day after last week's storm. And I know that was a tiny blizzard compared to what happened in northeastern states Monday – my best wishes are sent your way!
Speaking of the blizzard, last Wednesday the female Hairy Woodpecker returned to the elm tree adjacent to my feeding station, but in her personally unusual way the female Hairy only foraged on the elm tree, twice, ignoring the suet, seeds, and shelled peanut halves in the feeders – hmm. Sunday I realized I didn't see any Red-breasted Nuthatches, and that may have been the case Saturday, and it continues – have they left the area? The White-breasted dudes continue to visit. I only saw House Finches visit my seed feeder Saturday and Tuesday this week, after it seemed as though they left the area last week. And the excitement of then there was the first-year Sharp-shinned Hawk sighted beyond my front door, then outside my bay windows Sunday afternoon, so I'm on alert to see if it stays in the neighborhood a while. In the meantime, enjoy the birds around you, wherever you are and wherever you go.
Article and Photos by Paul Konrad
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