While most people think “winter birding” and “great gray owls” when they think of the Bog, I find Fall a beautiful time to visit. The back roads and trails are my own. Over the course of time from September to November a diversity of birds are presented to me via the magic of migration. Right now in a few weeks, the majesty of Rough-Legged Hawks, one of my favorite birds, will start appearing from northern Canada and the Arctic.

While my exotics did not show their faces (or feathers) yesterday, it was still a delightful time starting right at sunrise. The temperature was 35F, clear skies, no wind, and great fall foliage. Who can argue with this scenario? I am actually going to work backwards in time. At 9:30 the Ruffed Grouse came out onto the back roads to  enjoy the sun and grab some gravel. Here are two different grouse I saw within minutes of each other, but a mile apart.

Both grouse were constantly checking the skies, which given the number of raptors I saw was a good idea. This Bald Eagle was hanging out on Sax Road 60 minutes after sunrise. I watched it for about five minutes till it decided to move locations.

Sunrise saw me on McDavitt Road … I suspect this Red-Tailed Hawk was one of the reasons I did not see any Great Gray Owls in my favorite location. I personally this bird needs to work on its tail feathers … they look a little bit worse for wear. The hawk was actively hunting, changing its perches every few minutes. Unfortunately I did not see it make a kill.

I suspect the look on the hawk’s face in the final image is its way of telling what the bird thinks of my opinion!