Recent Bird Sightings

This is the time of year to see and enjoy birds.

Recently, I flushed a pair of sandhill cranes who were foraging on Toby's Prairie, our dry mesic planted prairie that is fairly remote from the wetland the cranes usually inhabit. When they spotted me they took off with their lumbering flight and soared about 30 feet over my head. A fine sight!

The next day I flushed a turkey hen from the White Oak Savanna. I didn't see a sign of a nest, but the day before Heisley had flushed one off the nest in Unit 11D. Plenty of eggs in that nest!

"Our" red-headed woodpeckers are quite active these days. We see or hear them almost every day. Yesterday Kathie and I saw a pair who were probably nesting in a clump birch among the bur oaks on the savanna. While I was watching the putative nest I saw a scarlet tanager drop into a small oak nearby. Colorful!