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I spent the waning light of the day today looking
for winter specialties along the Antelope Island Causeway. I found a
few in 2 hours of birding. I saw one Snow Bunting near mm 2 on the south
side of the causeway in a flock of many busy and ever-flushing Horned
Larks. The Snow Bunting flushed as frequently as did the larks,
complicating my attempts to find and re-locate and relocate and relocate
it. The bunting didn't even have the decency to stick to the edge of the
flock or show markedly different behavior than the larks showed. However,
the Snow Bunting's lighter color and slightly larger size made it stand out a
bit among the other birds. I also noticed the Snow Bunting usually
occupied the center of a group of foraging Horned Larks, and I always found the
bunting about 20 feet off the edge of the road. It foraged either in
a stretch of rocks or weeds paralleling the road.
I also saw:
Common Goldeneyes (many)
Buffleheads (many)
Long-tailed Ducks (2 young males, south of the
bridge between mm 0 and 1)
Barrow's Goldeneye (1 female, north of the
bridge)
Rough-legged Hawk (1 very, very light juvenile,
perched on a 40 mph sign that I rarely pay any attention)
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
Common Ravens
And finally, as the long, late-afternoon
and buttery rays of the sun struck low and gilded the Wasatch Front, I
passed a clean and wild-looking Peregrine Falcon, subspecies
tundrius, on an antenna pole on the south side of the causeway
between mm 3 and 4. I sped east past the pole at 4:50 and turned around
for another look. The falcon looked back at me, curious but
unflinching. It was an adult that looked at once lethal and svelte
and powerful. The head plumage was black and bold, with thinner
moustachial markings than F. p. anatum shows.
The breast was clean, bright-white, and starkly barred with rows of
black. The falcon's back and wings were pale gray-blue--uniform and
trim. The gray-blue gave way to darker, sharp wing tips neatly folded
over and matching the length of the dark tail. Then the bird stood upright
on those great yellow feet, extended its wings and exposed the uniform light
underwings, and flew toward the Syracuse shore. I drove away
slowly--observing the 40 mph sign.
Kris
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