66th Street Arrivals

March 25th was a gorgeous day, so I took advantage of the fair weather and rode out to 66th Street off of Marshall Road after work. A few new arrivals for the spring have become abundant in the last two weeks including Western Meadowlarks, Killdeer and Mountain Bluebird. These were my targets as I headed out from the office. About a mile down the road I had my first singing WESTERN MEADOWLARK (#81) on Cherryvale Rd. It wasn't long after I had turned onto 66th St that I heard an agitated KILLDEER (#82) near a small cattail marsh and Black-tailed Prairie Dog colony. I spotted a pair scurrying around the Prairie Dog burrows. Chorus Frogs have begun to trill. There was a group of 5 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (#83) hunting in the field to the west of the road. An adult Red-tailed Hawk showing characteristics of a Fuertes' Red-tail has been hanging out on the utility poles here. It's got a very pale head, with brown being limited to the auriculars, malar area, and the back of the crown and nape. The belly only has a couple, barely visible, light tan stripes. The tail is completely red, with no black band. A neat bird on the pale extreme.