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| A Northern Hawk Owl |
The digest of VTbirds this morning had several reports of a Northern Hawk Owl about 10 miles from here. It’s a bird that I’d not seen and rather rare to Vermont — one or two a year get spotted each year.
So the dog and I hopped in the truck this morning and went over to River Road and sure enough, there were a group of birders standing beside the road with scopes and binoculars looking south. I knew several of them and they pointed out the bird sitting in a tree quite a ways off. It is a life bird for me.
It was hard to see clearly without a scope — which I had left in the truck — but several scopes were already set up and all of us got some good looks. The owl left to hunt for a bit and then cooperatively perched on another tree about the same distance away. Since the word was out (and it was the start of a new year of counting) birders were showing up from all over upstate Vermont.
Later, I went up to visit my other bird, my Luscombe, and install a new canopy cover to protect it from the elements. It was a nice way to start off the new year.