Tuesday, November 13, 2012

AMNH Make-up walk for the impressively long fall series


Today was the last in an impressive series of make-up walks.  Weather has lengthened the fall series almost into winter!  :-)  Today the weather tried again, with a somewhat dismal day dotted with showers, but we braved ahead anyway.    Right away we found a winter wren and this downy woodpecker.
Downy Woodpecker
 Following the bridle path to hopefully find an owl that was seen yesterday, we took a detour to see if we could find the crossbills by Shakespeare garden.  We found this gorgeous Carolina wren instead.  Look at that eyebrow!  We also got to hear it sing a bit, always a treat.
Carolina Wren
 There were several ducks on turtle pond, including several northern shovelers.........
Northern Shoveler
 ..... and this bufflehead!
Bufflehead
 Heading back to the bridle path Paul found us a few goldfinches among the loud blue jays.
American Goldfinch
 And then the reason the blue jays were upset - this Cooper's hawk flew circles over us, presumably seeking lunch.
Cooper's Hawk
 We did find the owl, or rather Paul did, I definitely would have missed it.  It was high up in the tree, and there were only a few spots with a good vantage point.  Hello Gorgeous!
Barred Owl
 We all got great views, and left it before we annoyed it too much.  We finished up at the reservoir but the showers had started again so I put the camera away.  I'm so glad we went ahead, the whole walk was nice but that owl was really special.  :-)
Barred Owl