Mammals

After a day of birding which began at 6:30 AM in search of the still evasive Hoary redpoll, we head over to the Shawangunk Grasslands preserve at the old Galeville airport. Our target species here is the rough-legged hawk. We are not disappointed as the hawk makes an appearance after only 5 minutes or so. We get really nice views of the dark phase bird through the scope even though he is too distant to photograph. That will have to wait till another day. Later in the evening, we take our two "local" grandsons to one of our favorite birding spots, Kenridge Farm. We find three muskrats feeding along the rim of the pond. One is quite close and is too busy grazing to be distracted by our presence. The kids know they have to be very subdued to get close and they do a wonderful job. Both are "junior naturalists, having gone through the local nature museum's educational program and they quickly id the mammal as a muskrat rather than a beaver. Nice end to a long day in the field. Oh, by the way......the Hoary redpoll continues to frustrate us. Maybe this weekend?