Winter Raptors
This winter has been very cold and snowy here in the Coast Range of western Oregon. This morning the temperature was 20 degrees with lots of ice on our driveway. However, compared to other regions of the country our winter is pretty mild stuff with great opportunities for looking for wintering raptors. On a recent trip along the Columbia River we spotted many Red-tailed Hawks and also a Rough-legged hawk. The Rough-legged is similar to the Red-tailed but with a mostly light colored head and upper breast. Bald Eagles (adults as well as many young eagles without the distinctive white head) were seen. Two eagles in an aerial talon lock tumbled in the grey sky. A thrill for us to watch! Many Kestrals decorated the telephone wires. We saw a male and several female northern harriers flying low over the marshes and fields. A special thrill on this trip was a White-tailed Kite. I like looking for owls in the winter because the early sun sets make it easier to be out at dusk and into the early evening owling. We spotted five(a record number for me on a single birding trip) Short-eared Owls and heard a Screech Owl.
