The constant, ever-changing, swirling winds that envelope Newfoundland often bring in some delightful birds, particularly at this time of the year. We are beginning to see dribs and drabs of rare birds turn up all around us.
One of the unique places to see some rarities is in Goulds. There, the recently-plowed, freshly "manured" farm fields have previously attracted some great birds like a Sandhill Crane, Pink-footed Goose, European Golden Plover and more. After unsuccessfully chasing birds in St. John's on Sunday, I took a drive to Goulds. I found one field alive with birds: 200 American Crows and Common Ravens, 100 Rock Dove and more than 1000 European Starling. They were in a frenzy in and around the field. I stopped and scanned the area hoping there might be just one out-of-place bird. I didn't see one.
However, I did come across something very interesting in another field. It was such a curious bird. As I drove along Old Bay Bulls Road, I spotted a medium size bird hovering over a field. It looked familiar ... like a Belted Kingfisher fluttering over a pond. Wasting precious moments when I realized a kingfisher would never be over a field, I stopped, wrestled to get my camera out from under my coat and managed to fire three shots. By this time the bird had flown. It was heading across the road and into the trees. This made my pictures even more distant.
What I could discern was that it looked bluish, was about the size of a kingfisher, made no noise and flew without provocation. The first picture above is the best one I got. This second photo looks something like a hawk or falcon, but not so much with the first photo.
I have sent these two smudges to Dave and Bruce, and neither one could make much sense of them. Anyway, this is a very curious bird. Anyone travelling in the Goulds area near the Old Bay Bulls Road and the Main Road south junction, keep an eye out for this unusual bird. It would be so nice to know what it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment