Bird Trip

Red Tailed Hawk by Ellen Weinstein

An unusually small group was gifted with stellar autumn weather and a nice array of birds at the Suffolk Farm and Education Center on November 2nd.

Raptors were especially well represented, with six species seen – Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, and Red-tailed hawks, American Kestrel and Merlin. Surprisingly absent was Bald Eagle, which this writer had seen during personal visits on consecutive days in mid October, and several other past visits.

Other notable species encountered included Wild Turkey (a group of 9, made up of adult females and immature birds hatched this year), Common Raven, American Pipit, White-crowned Sparrow, and Eastern Meadowlark. Red-winged Blackbird was the most abundant species, with close to 300 seen in flocks of various sizes. Their numbers are bound to increase over the coming weeks, to feed on the farm’s harvested corn crop.