12/29/22

Today I decided to bird locally. I began the morning around Lake Carmel. There was a decent number of Mallards along with a domestic goose that has been present for over a year.

While driving around the perimeter of the lake I found an immature bald eagle perched. Of course, at that moment I inadvertently changed the focus and was unable to take a clear picture. I continued down the road and called KC Miller to try and figure out what happened. When I returned to the Bald Eagle spot the bird had moved onto the ice in the middle of the lake.

Then I decided to take a ride to Glywood Farm on the other end of Putnam. I was hoping to find some horned larks or snow buntings. The first half of the trail was completely void of any birds except for European Starlings. A little further up the trail a few Eastern Bluebirds, Juncos and nuthatches came around. On my way back I saw a bird perched on the top of a tree. A Northern Shrike!! An American Kestral landed in a tree near the Shrike. A Northern Harrier was being harassed by crows and flew over my head, faster than I was able to get the camera in position and capture a decent photo. Hopefully, the shrike will remain long enough to be counted in next week’s Putnam County Christmas Bird Count.