Got out to Black Hand Gorge for the first time since I walked with the
Franklin Co. Retired Teachers Hiking Club.



Not much going on - no obvious migrants.  Nothing along the river except the
resident kingfishers and some feral geese.



However, the male bald eagle was perched in the dead sycamore at the big
bend in the river, where I have seen him several times before.  He has no
objection to bikers, joggers or walkers, but don't stop to admire him.  He
takes offense at gawkers, and flies off in a huff to hide in a leafy tree.
I can see why he might be embarrassed - he appears to be a fairly small bird
for an eagle.  It's interesting to see him with the female, which is quite
large in comparison.



A few Carolina chickadees and cardinals, and some very vocal red-bellied
woodpeckers were all that I saw other than the eagle.



I worked in and around my house most of the day Saturday, and was able to
make quite a few observations, which I posted yesterday.  A lot of birds are
looking very scruffy just now, some in partial molt, and some with quite
worn feathers.  It's particularly easy to identify the juveniles, with their
fresh plumage.  It was interesting to note the individual characteristics of
the red-breasted nuthatches that were coming to my feeders.  The summer
hatchlings had beautiful fresh plumage, while at least one of the others
looked just plain ratty.  Especially noticeable were the head stripes, which
"bled" together in the worn plumages, but were crisp and sharp in the
newbies.  This was the first time I have ever had an opportunity to study
these birds in detail, and I appreciate mother nature's making this
possible, even though it must be a very stressful time for the birds which
are forced to venture so far afield in search of sustenance.



Margaret Bowman

Licking Co., OH






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