Red-tailed Hawk, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Merganzer (20161205)First trip to Pictou County.

Well Sylvia and the CSI ladies (Mimmi, Angela, Diane) were headed off to Pictou County thanks to Angela's organizational skills. Angela had arranged for Ken McKenna to be our guide. I had never been to Pictou County for a visit so this was all new country to me, and a guide was a wonderful thing to have. The morning wa pretty dismal from a light perspective and our visit to the causeway netted us Boneparte's gulls, Hooded and Common Merganzers at a distance. We headed over to River John for a recently spotted Pink Footed Goose. Ken had spotted the bird three times over the past two weeks, but the cooler weather and high winds sent us back to Pictou. I was with Ken in the lead car when he spotted crows mobbing this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at one of the Round-a-bouts.

I was fortunate to grab a couple of images of this bird. Had it not been distracted I doubt it would have remained this close to the road.

Ken swung us by a abattoir to show us where Bald Eagles are usually available in the winter months. We were surprised to find some 40 baldies in the area. This juvenile bird looked pretty unique with all the white on its breast. It looked very much like a Red-tailed with a belly band.

Att he back of the field there were as many as 16 Balds in a single tree. Once again the light was pretty bad. Here is a shot of a juvvie doing a fly-over of Angela.

We next headed to some of the river spots in town. We were treated to a Harlequin and even an uncommon Eider. The highlights for me was this trio of Hoodies.

Although lighting and distance were tough the calmer water provided an acceptable couple of images.

We also found this Barrow's Goldeneye, agian in very dificult light, and at quite a distance.

In order to get these shots I left the convoy and spent some time walking along the river.

We wrapped up the day in Ken's neighbourhood looking for Evening Grosbeaks, but they were a no-show. However as we sat in Ken's driveway for a bit were were treated to his Baltimore Oriole.

A couple of American Robins were also present and some Mourning Doves. All told on the day we recorded 30+ species and had a SUPER time.

Take a little time and put some "wild" in your life, it'll do you good!
Turbo