Milton-Freewater Raptor Survey

Mike and MerryLynn Denny, Rodger and I, have been participating in the East Cascades Bird Conservancy's Oregon Raptor Survey Project for four years.  We survey our route, which consists of 100 miles of roads around Milton-Freewater, once a month during the winter.  Today we drove our route for the month of December and observed the following birds of prey.

 

Red-tailed hawk - 150

American kestrel - 45

Northern harrier - 4

Rough-legged hawk - 4

Ferruginous hawk - 1

Prairie falcon - 2

Cooper's hawk - 1

Great horned owl - 1

 

Other interesting birds seen on the route were a flock of bohemian waxwings, a flock of horned larks and at least 50 savannah sparrows.  Of the red-tailed hawks, three were Harlan's and several were rufous morph and dark morph.  Usually on Couse Creek Road we find large flocks of wild turkeys, but today there were none.