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Hi,
I was seriously buzz bombed by a Northern Goshawk
this morning. The event occurred around 7:30 this morning in Brighton. As I
rounded the corner in search of the Winter Wren reported by the Byers, I heard a
loud. continual qwek qwek qwek call and noticed a very large bird coming
straight at my head! After I instinctively ducked, he/she swooped to a
neighboring tree branch and continued to make a lot or racket, giving me dirty
looks all the time. I fumbled for my camera and attempted to take photos of the
angry bird. Alas, the early dawn light was insufficient for any decent
telephoto shots. I decided to politely vacate the area, obviously
having gotten too close to the nest (which I never saw), but, as soon as I took
a couple of steps, down swooped the bird, heading straight for my head!
This time I really ducked, getting as low as I could, as he once again swooped
over me. Again, I attempted some photos in insufficient light. As soon as I
took another step, he/she was upon me again. We went through this ritual a final
4th time before he/she would allow me to leave the vicinity of the nest.
Some of you may have experienced this, but it
was a first for me with a bird of that size. The whole serious of incidents took
only 4 minutes, according to the times recorded on my camera. I knew I was an
unwelcome visitor, and I was genuinely fearful.
I never found the Winter Wren, though I did find a
House Wren nearby. I also missed out on the other great birds I was looking for:
Red & White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, Three-toed Woodpeckers,
White-breasted Nuthatches, etc. However, I did find one of the Williamson's
Sapsucker nests and got some nice photos. I also got to see a Yellow-rumped
Warbler baby on his first attempts at flying - very cute. He fell out
of the nest and fluttered to the ground. He then flipped and flopped on the road
and in the bushes. He occasionally managed to get a few feet off the ground to
cling tenuously to a low branch. I took some nice pictures,
though moderately blurry (he wouldn't hold still!). I'm sure he'll be fine
with a little more practice.
All in all, I spent 6 hours birding the Brighton
area, doing the Silver Lake, Lake Solitude, Twin Lakes, Lake Mary loop suggested
by the Byers, and came up with 31 species. There's a resident Mink up there
that's fun to see. Unfortunately, I missed out on the previously mentioned
birds, but may try again at the Brighton
bird count. It was well worth the effort, however, getting to see the Goshawk
and the Sapsuckers. The weather was beautiful.
Two things really bugged me. As I approached Lake
Solitude, 4 ORV's and a dirt bike roared up the dirt road to break the silence
and ambience. They all parked next to the lake and dismounted their machines. I
didn't know they allowed those vehicles up there. The riders all appeared to be
young, around the age of 20. Perhaps, they are employees of Solitude, but I
don't know what work they would be doing at the lake. It sure ruined the mood.
The second thing was the sad walk down the permanent detour dirt road/trail from
Lake Mary. I remember seeing Crossbills along that little stream on the old
trail. As most of you probably already know from the papers, they've closed the
lower part of the Lake Mary trail, which has become a trampled superhighway from
overuse. It has never been a particularly pleasant trail because of all the
people traffic, but the dirt maintenance road that zigzags back and forth across
the ski runs is a poor excuse for an alpine trail.
If anyone wants to see pictures of the Goshawk or
Sapsuckers, or directions on where to see these creatures, e-mail me and I'll
send them to you.
Jim Bailey
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