Johnson Rd 12/14/24

The temperature was in the mid 20s with a steady easterly breeze in our faces as we gathered at "The Orchard" on Johnson Rd. in Geneva. BTW the orchard is gone. It must have been removed last summer. In attendance were Lynn Jacobs, Roger Smith, Carol K., Michaele B., Steve Benedict, Ann Schliffer, and Kevin Armstrong. The sun was brilliant, the sky was clear, the moon was full and out in all its glory. The birds were cooperative. We gathered at 3:30 PM. A lone Northern Harrier was observed. It was not long before the Harrier was joined by another NH and soon 2 Short-eared Owls joined in the aerial ballet. All this during good daylight conditions. At one point we clearly heard the cat like croak call of the SEO. There were so many birds flying, mixing it up over such a vast area that it was a bit difficult to get a good count of the exact number. That said, with the exception of the Canada geese, I'm pretty sure the numbers below are accurate. By 4:35 we had all seen what we had come to see and our group returned to our warm cars and headed home.

3 Nothern Harrier

3 Short-eared Owl

4 American Crow

~ 700 Canada Geese

Respectfully,

Kevin Armstrong