Icy Black Dirt Birding, 12/29/15

~A Red-tailed Hawk takes flight off of an icy perch, Black Dirt Region, 12/2915.~
~A Red-tailed Hawk takes flight off of an icy perch, Black Dirt Region, 12/2915.~

With the overnight frozen mix that continued with a steady rain in the morning, I did not think I would get much birding in today, and I certainly was not optimistic about taking photos. Fortunately the roads were fine for driving, so I did a tour of the black dirt in my car. I ran into some good birds close enough to the road for pics, and the icy conditions made for what I think are some interesting photos. I had a total of 33 species for the day; I covered a large territory and I’ve included two species I picked up during a quick stop at Tomahawk Lake at the end of the outing (Common Merganser and N. Mockingbird). I’ve included my species list at the bottom of this post.

~Coopers Hawk, Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~
~Cooper’s Hawk, Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~
~My latest favorite - American Tree Sparrow framed in icy branches. Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~
~My latest favorite – American Tree Sparrow framed in icy branches. Black Dirt Region, 12/29/15.~
~Red-tailed Hawk on an icy perch, Black Dirt Region 12/29/15.~
~Red-tailed Hawk on an icy perch, Black Dirt Region 12/29/15.~

Black Dirt Region and Tomahawk Lake, December 29, 2015:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Common Merganser
Black Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Blackbird sp.
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

4 thoughts on “Icy Black Dirt Birding, 12/29/15”

    1. Thanks Joe, I guess that’s true – I had very low expectations today so I was pleasantly surprised. Matt

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