Merlin at Old Reid Park

 Such an awesome encounter at Old Reid today with this Merlin. Likely an immature bird or a female. From All About Birds..."Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks."

This Merlin perched nicely for the better part of an hour...it looked upward and focused its attention on the sky when a Northern Harrier flew over (Pic #3), and again when a flock of Sandhill Cranes flew low overhead (Pic #4). It finally flew, but landed nearby on a rock and posed for more pics.

@NTPRD

Mars and Moon Conjuncture

 This morning just before sunrise, Mars was easily visible in alignment with the crescent Moon. 

And the full image including Venus......

Moonbow and Orion

 A moonbow last night about midnight....likely due to moonlight reflecting through ice crystals very high in the night sky.

The clear, cold winter sky gave a good look at the Orion Constellation...and especially the three aligned stars that make up Orion's Belt.

Three pics....as seen, with labels on stars, and superimposed with the Orion Constellation on the third image to show the the Hunter.

Belted Kingfisher Diving

 I watched this female Belted Kingfisher at CJ Brown today. 

CJ Brown Snowy Owl

Another visitor from the far north! Snowy Owl at CJ Brown today.

The owl was found by Clark County birder Dan Kemp.

I was contacted by a park ranger and was there about an hour after Dan found it. It had flown from the original location, but we were able to re-locate it.

Old Reid Ducks

We've done a few mornings drives through Old Reid the last weeks. Here's some of the ducks and shorebirds we've seen.

Madison County Snowy Owl

 After seeing social media posts over the last week of a Snowy Owl in Madison County, we decided to join the Snowy Owl club and make the short drive to see it. As predicted, the owl was perched in the Moen Parking lot on rt 40 in Madison County....the same location where it had been for several days. 
Many observers and photographers were present, so we parked and walked toward the crowd. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, the owl flew off, and we were able to catch a couple of nice flight shots.
We stayed around for about 30 minutes, then headed home. I've since seen that the owl is back at the same location.