Last evening we returned from a month-long trip down south, including 12
days in Fla. Florida has had the coldest winter and early spring in
decades, but we brought them good fortune, as it warmed into the 70's
while we were there. Lots of great birds, although I was hoping to see
more warbler species. After unpacking the car, I went out to re-fill
our by-now-empty feeders. There was music to my ears, when I heard a
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER rat-a-tat-tatting on a nearby street sign
(probably not "music" to those living in closer proximity!). I was also
happy to see CHIPPING and SONG SPARROWS. Sara Jane spotted our first
PURPLE FINCH of the year this morning.
We have many good birding stories to relate about our trip, including
having FLORIDA SCRUB JAYS land on our heads to get free handouts, and
getting great, long looks at a PROTHONOTARY WARBLER feeding on a dike
road together with a bunch of YELLOW-RUMPS. But one that deserves
special mention concerns a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (paler Florida
sub-species). As we were driving a dike in a wastewater reclamation
facility, we spotted one of these birds in a tree next to the road. We
stopped to admire it, when it suddenly flew down and splashed into the
marshy grasses/reeds next to the road. It sat there a couple minutes
with its wings outstretched "glaring" at us, as though telling us,
"don't even think about trying to take away my prey". We didn't know
what it had caught, until it flew away and we saw the long leg of a frog
trailing behind in its talons.
Larry Hymes
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W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
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