10-31-13 Bird Field Note

10-31-13 Bird Field Note

October 31, 2013

Debbie Leick, Eric Rasmussen, and Adam Shreading share descriptions of a northern pygmy owl, mule deer and an unusual primary feather on a Red-tailed hawk.

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Bird Field Note 10/31/13

Temperatures cool and fall colors brighten the landscape.

Hungry mule deer ignore the brown grass and browse on bitterbrush.

Tall, thick grasses obscure an old turkey’s nest.

A song sparrow, surrounded by fog, perches on frosted branches. After the fog lifts, icy spider webs glisten in the sun.

A northern pygmy-owl elicits non-stop alarm calls from nearby nuthatches and chickadees. The owl eventually flushes and silence returns.

A Harlan’s red-tailed hawk has a dark body with a white tail.

Weather conditions like this tend to yield low counts.

Raptor View Research Institute banded five raptors this week. While migrant numbers decline as the fall migration comes to an end, RVRI believes the warm, cloudless weather contributed to this week’s low capture numbers. With a wintery change predicted early next week, we hope to see more migrants pass through our trapping stations.

This young Red-tailed Hawk was captured at the lower blind. The curled primary feather on its right wing is unusual; the cause of this abnormality is unknown.