This past Saturday, Dec 26th, Don Carrier, my wife Lynda, and I helped with the
Russell County (Blackford) CBC as we do each year. Our section of the count
circle took in mostly from Richlands to Lebanon mostly following Rte 640. It
turned out to be a very slow birding day, in fact the slowest one we have ever
had since we have been helping with the count in the last six years. In our
section we found only 37 species. Not only was the number of species down, but
the numbers of birds were down also. We would sometimes go for a couple of
miles without seeing a single bird. The highlight of the day was a Merlin
perched near the highway that we got good looks at and photos. We were also
surprised to find a perched adult male Northern Harrier. After watching the
bird for a few minutes we saw it leave the perch and dive to the ground out of
site as if it were after prey. A small flock of crows came to perch in the
nearby trees probably to harass the harrier. The hawk never reappeared and we
finally moved on.
In spite of the lowered numbers we had an enjoyable day being outside.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
