Yesterday, January 23, was predicted to be the last good day of decent weather for a while so I decided to try and search out and photograph some of our winter raptors. Ray Staszko joined my excursion and we arrived at our first stop, Sheffield Mills, at 9:45AM, to try for some more Bald Eagle photos. Alas, although the table was set the eagles chose to sit and watch and we had other places to visit so we departed at 10:30AM, after obtaining some tree shots of this magnificent bird.

Bald Eagle

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We were delighted to find a Peregrine Falcon atop a utility pole and so we stopped for some images. This bird by itself made the trip worthwhile.

Peregrine Falcon

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The Falcon was banded but unfortunately it is not possible to read all of the numbers on the band.

Our next visit was The Guzzle at Grand-Pre. We had high hopes of spotting a Snowy or Short-eared Owl but unfortunately dyke work had several big hoes working atop the dykes and fourteen wheel dump trucks rumbling down the road frequently so if there were any owls around an extensive search of the fields would have been required and we had no time. We stopped at Just Us Coffee for a brew and a delicious frittata.

Our final stop of the day was Hartlen Point where we easily and quickly found the Eurasian Kestrel sitting in a spruce tree beside the settling pond near the the Golf Club's Clubhouse. It didn't remain sitting for long and was soon hunting along the western shoulder of the golf course. The ground was partially obscured by snow but not enough to hinder the kestrel in its quest.

Eurasian Kestrel

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My final photo capture of the day was the Rough-legged Hawk which has a very similar hunting style as the Eurasian Kestrel; soar, hover and plunge.

Rough-legged Hawk

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Rough-legged HawkRough-legged Hawk

With the addition of Northern Harrier and Red-tailed Hawk, both seen several times but not photographed, it was a six raptor species day and well worth the effort.