It has been a busy month, so we did not get out too many times. However, we managed an outing to Harrison Mills yesterday and to Iona Beach and the Reifel Sanctuary today. The highlight at Harrison Mills was watching and listening to a juvenile bald eagle, perched on a tree devouring a salmon. This bird was calling loudly and frequently! The highlight at Iona Beach was watching two eagles and a peregrine falcon pursuing green winged teals. The maneuverability of the eagles was surprising, while the speed of the peregrine was phenomenal. We cheered when a teal finally escaped repeated attempts by the raptors. However, about five minutes later, the two eagles were able to finally catch the teal which repeatedly dove into the water to escape. One of the eagles finally managed to pounce on the teal as it came up from a dive, and the eagle proceeded to drown it. The highlight at the Reifel Sanctuary was a northern goshawk which passed overhead four times, before finally landing in a tree. This is the first time we have seen a goshawk in the wild, and it certainly is very large compared to other acceptor hawks!
