We Need to Talk About Kevin
No, not Lionel Shriver's Kevin. I mean Kevin the Sandhill Crane! Maybe I should back up.
M has long enjoyed going to Sandy Ridge Reservation to watch birds, but with the pandemic going on she hasn't felt comfortable going there. Today, she felt like she'd give it a shot, so we went out to North Ridgeville. We got fully masked up and went for a nice walk. Unfortunately, virtually everyone else was not masked up, and several of the trails are not wide enough to accommodate two-way traffic, and eventually M got a little freaked out and we bailed out. However, we did see some nice birds while we were out there.
The highlight for me was finally seeing a sandhill crane. This particular crane has basically no fear of humans, and has been dubbed Kevin by the birding community. He was within two feet of the trail (apparently, Kevin is also not social distancing) and we got a good look at him.
Other notable birds seen:
* = First time it's appeared on my formal lists.
*Sandhill Crane
*brown-headed cowbird
tree swallow - including one who landed near us to show off his iridescent blue feathers
wood duck - two separate mother/baby groups and several males
trumpeter swans
Common Egret - we saw one snag a fish
red-winged blackbird - one of my favorites, honestly
We also saw a bunch of turtles, and two very large hawks at a great distance. They were probably red-tailed hawks, but we didn't get a positive ID.
Our most exciting bird encounter was on the way home. We were driving the surface streets along the lake and saw a bald eagle maybe 30 feet over the car, wings fully extended. It's the closest I've ever gotten to a flying eagle, which we usually see either perched on nests or high, high in the air. Supposedly a bald eagle can have a wingspan from 6 to 7.5 feet across, and this one sure seemed like it was on the larger side of that. This was also the closest to home that I've seen a bald eagle. We were in Bay Village at the time.
M has long enjoyed going to Sandy Ridge Reservation to watch birds, but with the pandemic going on she hasn't felt comfortable going there. Today, she felt like she'd give it a shot, so we went out to North Ridgeville. We got fully masked up and went for a nice walk. Unfortunately, virtually everyone else was not masked up, and several of the trails are not wide enough to accommodate two-way traffic, and eventually M got a little freaked out and we bailed out. However, we did see some nice birds while we were out there.
The highlight for me was finally seeing a sandhill crane. This particular crane has basically no fear of humans, and has been dubbed Kevin by the birding community. He was within two feet of the trail (apparently, Kevin is also not social distancing) and we got a good look at him.
Other notable birds seen:
* = First time it's appeared on my formal lists.
*Sandhill Crane
*brown-headed cowbird
tree swallow - including one who landed near us to show off his iridescent blue feathers
wood duck - two separate mother/baby groups and several males
trumpeter swans
Common Egret - we saw one snag a fish
red-winged blackbird - one of my favorites, honestly
We also saw a bunch of turtles, and two very large hawks at a great distance. They were probably red-tailed hawks, but we didn't get a positive ID.
Our most exciting bird encounter was on the way home. We were driving the surface streets along the lake and saw a bald eagle maybe 30 feet over the car, wings fully extended. It's the closest I've ever gotten to a flying eagle, which we usually see either perched on nests or high, high in the air. Supposedly a bald eagle can have a wingspan from 6 to 7.5 feet across, and this one sure seemed like it was on the larger side of that. This was also the closest to home that I've seen a bald eagle. We were in Bay Village at the time.