12/31/2024
December did not quite play out as I hoped. I spent a lot more time reading than I did shooting. A lot of weekends, the weather was not great. A quick recap of my two outings this month.
My plan was to get to Bear Run and shoot Short-eared Owls all month. Days of rain and cloudy skies made it easy to shrug off the 5 hour round-trip. It was actually the very end of November (the 29th) when I made the trip to Bear Run. The sun was shining, and the wind was not too strong. Apparently, it was a bit too nice of a day. After waiting around for a couple of hours, the owls popped up right as the sun hit the horizon. There was about 15 minutes of shooting with acceptable light. I managed a few shots at some Northern Harriers while I waited. I saw a beautiful dark-phase Rough-legged Hawk while there, but I did not get a photo. I drove around looking for a shrike but struck out.
The month ended strong with a rare visitor to the state. A Red Phalarope appeared at a retention pond about 45 minutes away. It is fun to have seen this bird in both plumages this year. The bird had taken up residence at a small retention pond near a warehouse, of all places. That was nice, because it was close. The weekend arrived, and I procrastinated (an all too common trend) heading out first thing in the morning. I thought I was the smart one when I saw a report that it had flown off shortly after sunrise. When it came back and left again, I was even more convinced that I had chosen well. When it came back a final time, I figured I was really just blowing any chance at seeing it at all. It was approaching midday, but it was heavily overcast out. Shooting should be decent. About halfway there, the sun came out. There were intervals of clouds, but it was pretty much bold, ugly lighting. I was feeling like I had really just made a poor series of choices.
I got there and found the bird without issue. When I arrived, the bird was not looking so sharp. It was laying flat in the water and not moving. These are normally very active birds. I assumed it was sick and that its days were numbered. It finally perked up and behaving much more like a phalarope. It was energetic and was feeding well. A little later, the bird started laying in the water, again. It was then that another birder pointed out the Red-shouldered Hawk in the distance. That explained everything. I had seen the hawk earlier, but I did not associate it with the behavior. The bird was literally laying low to escape notice of the hawk. I got a few photos. I got muddy. In retrospect, I should have gotten a little lower. I was a bit too high for these photos. Regardless, they are the best Red Phalarope shots I got from Indiana. I will take them.
That wraps things up. I plan to do an end-of-year post later this week. Something that highlights my favorite photos from there year. Looking forward to a good 2025!
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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