It was a cool and very quiet morning in McKenzie Trails Park November 30, 2024. RDRN birders must have been focussed on Black Friday sales, and so no one turned up! In lieu, Susan, Bella (our dog) and I (Chris) walked the trails.
The woods were very quiet with only Magpies, Chickadees and a lonely Downy Woodpecker sighted along the trail up the escarpment. On top, a flock of White-winged Crossbills were traversing the tree tops - much like we saw in Bower Woods last week.
On the trail down, several Magpies were fussing below, and then a small flock of Ravens circled down. Together with a Common Flicker, the collective croaking, squawking and calling made quite a racket in the forest at the bottom. When we arrived, the ravens were harassing something in the shrubbery. Turned out to be a small Great Horned Owl caught in the relative open, and having a very bad day! A coyote must have arrived to help the mob scavenge, and when he scented us he began barking and yowling nearby to add to the cacophony. Fortunately, Bella (our very large dog) was not alarmed by the drama as it moved upslope. An otherwise slow morning was very busy for about 10 minutes!
Chris Olsen
Nov 30, 2024 10:56 AM - 1:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling, walking
4.617 kilometres
Checklist Comments: Red Deer River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group outing.
10 species
2 Participants
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) 1 Small bird, probably young-of-the-year, being mobbed by Common Ravens and Black-billed Magpies.
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) 8
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 7
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 13
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 1
White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) 20
View this checklist online at [https://ebird.org/checklist/S204104331](https://ebird.org/checklist/S204104331)
📷Photo of Raven and Great Horned Owl by Chris Olsen
 |
| Great Horned Owl |
 |
| Common Raven |
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment