344. Rough-legged Hawk

Date         January 19, 2024

Location    Garden Prairie, IL

This bird was seen while driving on US highway 20 between Garden Prairie and Marengo, IL. Here is how I came to this conclusion.

First, Rough-legged Hawks are often sighted in this area of northern Illinois in the winter. I had even chased one the prior winter that was reported on eBird in a park preserve in nearby Crystal Lake. In other words, the range is correct.

Second, the habitat was right. A corn field in a rural area.

Third, the behavior was typical. It was hovering over the field. The Cornell entry reads: "Winter is the time to see this large, open-country hawk in southern Canada and the U.S., where it may be perched on a pole or hovering over a marsh or pasture on the hunt for small rodents." The Audubon app has similar language: "Spends the winter in open country . . . Often hunts by hovering over fields, watching for movement below."

Fourth: I noted the dark leading edge and white trailing edge of the wings. Obviously, I did not have a lot of time for observation while driving, but I had sufficient time to lock in this observation.

Fifth: Northern Harrier was a possibility, but it was ruled out. The wing coloration and the behavior don't fit harrier. While it's certainly possible that a harrier could be flying this high, I almost always see them gliding over the field within 20 feet or so of the ground. This bird was higher up.

Sixth: There is dashcam footage of this bird. Below is screen shot which is obviously very blurry because, well, it's from a dash cam in fairly low light, late afternoon, cloudy day, going 50 mph. But it does confirm some details if in a vague fashion. Compare this image to the image above:

The dark trail on the trailing edge is distorted/amplified by the poor quality, but otherwise the wings are consistent. There is a very small impression of the white portion of the under tail as well. Also note the posture: that of hovering, not gliding or soaring. Here is a screen shot of bird in context, with no cropping:

Cornell: Rough-legged Hawk

  

343. Lazuli Bunting

Date         July 15, 2023

Location    Mill Creek Canyon, Salt Lake City, UT

I got some great views and there was lots of singing too.

The (terrible cell phone) picture above shows the actual life list bird.

Cornell: Lazuli Bunting

342. Plumbeous Vireo

Date         May 26, 2023

Location    Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer, SD

There is a short trail surrounding the VC that winds among the Ponderosa pines. I heard a classic vireo song. The pauses in between phrases were longer than Red-eyed; it was very similar to Blue-headed, but more buzzy. I checked some other vireos to be sure, but I thought it was one of the three Blue-headed species (that used to be one species before the split).

I wasn't very familiar with the ranges of the three species, so I consulted my field guide. The obvious possibility was the Plumbeous based on the song and range.

There were a few of them in the trees singing, but it took a while to find one with some help from Mieka. I was able to definitively confirm it: white spectacles, two white wingbars, gray and white overall, and I even caught a slight wash of yellow in the flanks just under the wing!

Cornell: Plumbeous Vireo

341. Blue Grosbeak

Date         May 23, 2023

Location    Badlands National Park (Cliff Shelf trail), Interior, SD

Many of the trails at Badlands have few trees, but the Cliff Shelf trail is an exception. This trail is actually quite shady with Ponderosa pines, so the birds were different than the normal flycatchers and ubiquitous W. Meadowlark; instead there were many Spotted Towhees singing.

After hiking up the steps and then starting down, I heard a warbling song that was unique, so I stopped to try to find the bird. I was unsuccessful at first, so I decided to scan with my binoculars the tree from which I thought the song was coming. At about 5 o'clock, deep in shadows, I found him. Despite the low light, I was able to see the large, silvery beak and the orange wing bars -- just barely, he started preening his wings a bit, and that helped.

Cornell: Blue Grosbeak

340. Gray-cheeked Thrush

 Date         May 6, 2023

Location    Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve, Kingston, IL

I saw a thrush hop up into a tree. He mostly had his back to us at first, and it clearly was not a Veery or Hermit Thrush (no rusty tail at all), so that left Bicknell's, Gray-cheeked, and Swainson's. Bicknell's is really out of range, so that left the other two.

One thing I noticed right off, because I knew the face was key, was that there was no eye ring. The face was otherwise unremarkable. He did eventually turn toward us enough that we could see the spots, and that further confirmed that it was one of the three listed above. The spots were much more distinct than Veery and too light and few for Wood Thrush.

Since it had no eye ring and no buffiness on the face, I concluded that it was a Gray-cheeked (or Bicknell's, because I didn't have the range at my fingertips or in my head). However, the nice thing was that just moments later we did see an obvious Swainson's, and the difference was quite distinct. That drove it home.

Cornell: Gray-cheeked Thrush

339. Northern Gannet

Date         November 23, 2022

Location    Gulf of Mexico near Dry Torguas National Park, Key West, FL

On the boat ride from Key West to Dry Tortugas, I was standing on the outside deck right at the front of the bow. Off to port and forward some distance ahead I saw three birds flying. All three clearly had the white body and black wing tips seen here. I could not discern the warm buffy tones on the heads. They flew together for quite a long time, maybe 10 minutes, just over the surface of the ocean, and gradually moved out of site.

I didn't have my field guide with me, and I postulated in my head that I had seen some sort of shearwater or maybe even an albatross due to the size. They definitely had long wing spans. These were large birds.

I finally got home to investigate, and I was surprised that this bird fit the description. For some reason I had thought that these were roughly the size of a gull, but in fact they are, as the Cornell guide states in the first sentence of the description, "nearly as large as an albatross." Combined with the clearly discernable color pattern, and range, I was able to identify my trio of birds as Northern Gannets.

I think from the tip of the bill to the base of the neck, this is one of the most beautiful birds out there. So while I have officially ticked this species off, I do want to see them again up close. They are featured in the film Winged Migration and I am always struck with their beauty.

Cornell: Northern Gannet

338. Snowy Plover

Date         November 22, 2022

Location    Key West Nature Preserve, Key West, FL

This nature preserve is quite small, consisting of a trail that goes right by a condo on the left (as you walk toward the beach) from a trailhead on a street with no parking, and a marsh to the right. There is a boardwalk that leads to a viewpoint in the marsh, but it was blocked off due to hurricane Ian damage. That looked like a productive spot, but I was only able to see a little bit of the water through the thick trees.

The trail goes for no more than a quarter mile and ends at the beach, where there is a viewing platform above the surface of the beach but no access to the beach itself. So while there was a great view and a good variety of birds there, there is no way to get any closer to something if you wish.

Such was the situation as a I was able to spot several of these plovers. They were just close enough to able to discern their color and behavior. These things and the range confirmed that they were Snowy Plovers. The beach was very much like what is seen in the photo above.

Cornell: Snowy Plover