As the day looked good for eagle watching, I went up on Mt. Pleasant, arriving at 1100 and vowing to stay until 1400. There was an active flock of 25 SNOW BUNTINGS foraging about, and at one point, most perched on the utility wires near the towers. The wind picked up, gusting from the SE, which was not pleasant, but typical. I was contemplating a hot lunch at 1350 when the dark phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK appeared, flapping and gliding, over the conifers to the south. While watching it, a very large, dark bird loomed up beyond, which proved to be an adult GOLDEN EAGLE. It spiraled up, eventually getting lost in the sun. Juiced up, I decided to stay a bit longer, and at 1410 an immature BALD EAGLE appeared to the east. Eagle quota filled, hands numb, outta there.
Steve Fast Brooktondale -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --