By Darcy Thomas
November 7 was a gorgeous day of sunshine with views of the snow-covered Swan Range. We were definitely on a quest, as there were not many raptors along our route. For quite a while we thought we might only see ravens and starlings. Our group of five birders was eventually rewarded with the sighting of a few raptors. Read offered a quarter to the first person to spot one, so now I am 25 cents richer!
We saw a bird we initially thought was a harrier, but it turned out to be a Prairie Falcon once we got the spotting scope on it. Margaret had a surprising moment when she spotted two Bald Eagles perched in a tree. “I’m never the first one to spot a bird!” she exclaimed.
We may have been short on birds, but we had fun, and the countryside was so gorgeous, we couldn’t complain. Our bird list included 18 species: Canada Goose, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Eurasian Collard-Dove, American Coot, Rock Pigeon, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Flicker, Prairie Falcon, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Belted Kingfisher, Steller’s Jay, Townsend’s Solitaire, Black-capped Chickadee, European Starling.