The BIG hawks from up Hudson Bay Way are arriving (and eagles). Saturday morning in a little over one hour at some prime spots in Sax-Zim Bog I spied nine Rough-Legged Hawks and two Bald Eagles. Basically I drove a big loop … Sax Road … Admiral Road … Zim Road … McDavitt Road … Sax Road … Highway 7 to the Greenhouse and back. The raptors were everywhere and I’m certain I missed some birds. Yup, it was the Hudson Bay Express! I assume quite a few of these birds will hang around till snow is on the ground (hawks do not like to hunt through snow).

Two Rough-Legged Hawks

One

Two

Friday morning I had a nice time on Stony River Forest Road, except now the “birds of the day” were Red-Tailed Hawks.

In closing, deer hunting season starts next Saturday (November 7th to 22nd) … the next three weekends. While deer hunters are very responsible, and I love birding in November here are a few of my reminders:

• Wear Blaze orange or red while hiking
• If you see vehicles pulled over, bird elsewhere (over one mile away). Most deer hunters use deer stands and this “distance” should keep you out of their hunting zones.
• There are extended seasons for bow and muzzleloaders, but their range when firing is MUCH smaller
• Remember, deer do NOT like bog habitat. If you bird true bog areas it is unlikely you will see many hunters. Note: Sax-Zim Bog has bog habitat that changes over to open meadow quickly.

I also found this Spruce Grouse which posed nicely for me on Stony River Forest Road.