Snowy to Skunk's

I went out this afternoon to see what sorts of birds I could add to the good old year list. We started out looking for Snowy Owls. It wasn't long until I spotted one at the top of a tree.

At one point this crow started mobbing it. The owl wasn't bothered, so the crow didn't stick around long.

We spent some time driving country roads on the way to Skunk's Misery. We found a nice sized group of Horned Larks on one of them. Been awhile since I have seen a flock that large!

We were almost to Skunk's when I spotted a couple large raptors cruising just above the tree line. After looking at them closer with binoculars, I had a feeling that they were Golden Eagles, which are known to overwinter in the area. I got my answer when I managed to photograph one of the birds.

It was in fact a Golden Eagle! Quite an exciting find indeed!

It was almost sunset when we arrived in Skunk's Misery. We spent about an hour trying to find some owls, but we were unable to detect anything.

It was a pretty productive few hours of birding! I'm sure I'll be out again soon!