Great Greys, or doldrums? 120721 Updated!

A little over eager this morning I picked Tim up at 4:00 a.m., we probably could have had an other hour's sleep, but then we wouldn't be "dedicated", right? Early morning Muley bucks, a Northern Harrier, a Coyote, a pair of Elk and some Swainson's and things were looking good. After a bit we managed to find a pair of Belted Kingfisher's but no images worth publishing. Early on our return home, I almost run over a bird in the middle of the road, so we got out and grabbed these captures.

This immature female Whitewinged Crossbill was very quickly joined by her brother.
I just found out that these are actually Red Crossbills, a brand new bird for me. So an unexpected great find!

But almost as quickly they were off. I associate these birds with tree tops and not so much gravel.With a desparate last ditch attempt we did manage to find a Great Grey. This was the first of two mice that we watch him cappture and eat.

We spent a total of 35 minutes with this bird. it was a terrific experience.

It is not hard to see how easily these big birds can escape our detection. They are coloured precisely for their element! We spotted a couple of other birds, most notable was a Golden Crowned Kinglet (I am having Dan confirm), with more hawks and Bluebirds. On our last road of the day I grabbed this shot of a small herd of ranch raised Buffalo.  I cannot image what the open plains were like with millions of these large animals on the move.

I am headed out with a new guy tomorrow. Here is hoping that we are able to "fill the buffer"!
Turbo