Upon arriving at the prairie-like expanse, a Red-tailed Hawk was spotted hunching in a tall barren tree. ( There are trees here too, not just prairie. ) I waited until dusk to make my way here, for that's when the Shorties are active, but some passerines were still around; in the form of Song Sparrows. As I made my way up the steep, narrow, roadway, there were Song Sparrow everywhere.
All of a sudden, BLAMMO! A crazy Ring-necked Pheasant called then popped his head out of the grass. He then started to sprint away from me on the right-hand side field.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Bad shot, but fun to see. Then, as this fleeing pheasant was running away, another joined him.
Ring-necked Pheasant (x2)
I counted five in total while I was there. I continued up the road, and my ears kept picking up an unknown sound, which may have been the Short-eared Owl's roosting call. He/she may have been getting ready to hunt, but seeing me scanning around may have discouraged him/her. I'm not counting that just yet. A flock of American Goldfinches floated around near-by, then settled in a new evergreen ( planted weirdly right by the field ). A female Northern Harrier sparked my interest for a split second, as it looked like a SE OW hunting.
Northern Harrier
Up in the sky was another harrier, and guess what was on a post, doing his best Short-eared Owl imitation - a third Northern Harrier. I see another bird behind the harrier in the sky.......... another NOHA. Four false alarms - a personal best for 15 seconds! The birding was still good anyway; a Rough-legged Hawk was surfing the sky overhead. Then, a bird swooped over my head. A late Western Meadowlark! My first ever for November. Not "Rare Bird Alert" quality, but still great to see, and it brightened my mood. ( The meadowlark still had its yellow chest! ) In the fading light, I picked out three European Starlings and one Ring-billed Gull in the dark sky to round out the list.
On the way back to Kelowna, I stopped at Rose's and another smaller pond for ducks. ( By then, it was CRAZY dark. ) On Rose's Pond, there were eight Northern Pintails, and on the other smaller pond, there was an abundance of ducks. On that pond, I squinted out Barrow's Goldeneye, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Pied-billed Grebe. In the dense tree behind the little pond, I heard some 'staying up late' Dark-eyed Juncos and Song Sparrow. I also heard a blackbird in some swampy vegetation that puzzled me. Maaayyybbbeee Rusty??? It was a sound that was different than what I had heard before. Oh, well. A POSSIBLE Short-eared Owl and a POSSIBLE Rusty Blackbird. ( I have a recording of the weird blackbird. )
Anyways, it was a good evening of birding. Thanks for looking.
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