bob@delphi.uchicago.edu (Robert S. Lewis, Jr.) (01/07/91)
Sunday I went for a drive along the northern Illinois side of the Mississippi from Fulton (more or less directly west of Chicago) north to the Wisconsin boarder. The beautiful bluffs along the Mississippi are home to numerous raptors, it seems. From the car I saw over 30 red-tailed hawks, 3 rough-legged hawks, 1 red-shouldered hawk, 1 cooper's hawk, 1 probable sharp-shinned hawk, 6 bald eagles, and 20 or so kestrels. Possibly the best bird, however, was the one that got away. While riding in a tow truck (we got stuck on an unplowed icy hill) I saw against the sun, a small falcon perched on a telephone wire which I just assumed was a kestrel. When the truck neared, the falcon dropped off the wire, glided low across the road, and over a small corn field into the woods. As it glided in front of me I thought it had a very dark back and very dark streaking on its belly. In fact, it looked awfully merlin like. But, alas, I had already assumed it was just a kestrel, and just wasn't prepared to give it the careful look it needed. Merlins don't regularly winter in this area according to the field guides, so it may have been a very nice bird, but alas I'll never know.