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Friends of Sherwood Island State
Park |
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Birds of the Park -
Photographed by A.J. Hand
Birds of Prey |
| See
Thanksgiving 2006, when a Bald Eagle
and a Turkey Vulture shared a
goose. |
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Owls
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 The
Great Horned Owl is the
undisputed king of the night skies,
terrorizing and eating anything from insects
and crows, to skunks and porcupines. When
the sun comes up, however, the roles reverse
as the owl tries its best to get a good
day's sleep, hiding from the very prey
it
ravages during the night, most notably,
flocks of vengeful crows. Its usual strategy
is to perch high in the dense canopy of a
conifer as this bird is doing, sitting right
next to the trunk where it blends into the
bark. While this makes the owl nearly
invisible to birders, crows seem to have
little trouble finding a GHO, and they take
great delight in
harassing it in a raucous mob. All this
noise works to your advantage, however.
If you hear a flock of hysterical crows, go
check out the scene. Look near the center of
their collective attention and you may
spot the owl, hunkered down and waiting for
them to get bored and move on. December 25,
2003 |
 I had been
hearing rumors of a Northern Saw-whet owl
in the park for three or four weeks before I finally
tracked the bird down, and that was with help; I had
been told exactly which three trees the bird had
been frequenting. But these little guys are so
small--about the size of your fist--and they
habitually hunker down in such dense cover, that
they are nearly impossible to find. Here's the
little guy, in a rare pose on an open perch.
(Feb16-03) |
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Spring 2007:
New
Great Horned Owlet |
 The Great
Horned Owls raised two young for the second year in a
row. Here are the female and one of the young.
Click here to see another shot
of the two young huddling together for security. The young owls
leave the nest around the end of March. They are not quite
flight ready at this point, so they spend the days "branching"
or climbing around in the branches near their nest. This is not
only the best time to see the young, but also to see the mother
who is usually nearby, keeping an eye on her kids. For most of
the rest of the year she will be well hidden and out of sight
during the day. Apr-06 |
| See
also:
Great Horned Owls and Owlets |
 Long-eared owl.
One or more of these sometimes roost in the park's
evergreens during the
winter. They can be difficult to locate, and
should not be disturbed or they may stop wintering in
the park. Feb26-03 |
 The Short-eared owl
has been my nemesis bird for the past two years.
I've waited hours in their known haunts, and walked
winter marshes at first light, just hoping for a
good look at a roosting bird. And then, one
afternoon, in a major stroke of luck, I got this
bird, on the very same day I found the Northern
Saw-whet. Feb16-03 |
A
Barred Owl was
photographed not in the park, but within two
miles of it. Click here to see
two photos.
Jan14-04 |
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 Red-tailed hawks.
One
of Sherwood Island's treasures is its abundant
supply of fearless red-tailed hawks. They are so
tame they provide almost unlimited close-up viewing.
Here's a breeding pair, with the larger female on
the
right, huddling close together in the sun to keep
warm on a frigid January morning. Jan22-03 |
 Roughleg
Hawk is an uncommon winter visitor from the
tundra of the far North. It comes in two
"morphs" or color variants, and this is the
light
morph, probably a male. The dark morph generally has
the same white
areas, but the rest of the bird is much darker, and
almost uniformly black in the adult male. This
particular bird appeared sporadically at
the park for a few weeks during February 2003, normally hunting over the east marsh near the
entrance gates or perching in the nearby trees.
Feb1-03 |
Merlin chasing a
Cooper's Hawk.
This is typical
behavior for the Merlin. It's a small falcon with an
aggressive
attitude, and it will attack any bird of any size
that comes within range. Sep11-02 |
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Osprey |
 Osprey
over the Mill Pond.
July 03 |
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