TO VIEW PICTURE OF BIRDS OF PREY CLICK ON THE MINNESOTA ORNITHOLOGY UNION SITE ABOVE

Sharp Shin hawks love to hunt birds around feeders. See our newspaper article on these hawks farther down in the blog.

We have an article on sharp-Shinned Hawks written for the Spring Valley Tribune down 12 or 13 pictures below.

We shot all of our pictures with Cheap Kokak Cameras. Please forgive us if some of our photos lack quality as our favorite is a $44 pawned kodak.

Bald Eagles along the Mississippi continue to hunt fish even as parts of the big river freeze up.

Came upon 23 Bald Eagles just west of Rushford , Mn. in early December.

It appears they were feeding on deer carcasses that someone had put out.

We often see the Bald Eagle in the role of scavenger during the winter months. It was also interesting to note that almost all of these eagles were immature and had not developed the white head that appears at about age 4. It seems there must have been a good hatch of eagles this year.

Two years ago, While looking for Golden Eagles , we came upon over 200 Bald Eagles in one location. We later learned that there was a huge chicken farm nearby that threw out chicken parts. This is what attracts the large numbers of eagles.

Took this picture of a Golden Eagle at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Mn. Golden Eagles come out of Canada in the winter and frequent the upland hills and valleys a few miles from the Mississippi in S.W. Wisc. and S.E. Mn. They are far less common than the Bald Eagle and hunt upland game like rabbits and turkey. It is very difficult to tell the difference between a Golden Eagle and an imature Bald Eagle.

Had 7 inches of snow, enough to break out the skis for the year. The ski season opened on Dec. 4th last year, and Dec. 3rd this year.

Found this beheaded shrew by the river. Probably the work of an owl.

The Junco is the all time favorite prey for the Sharp-Shin Hawk. We often find piles of Junco feathers around the yard after a Sharp-Shin has been hunting our feeders.

The English of House Sparrow is one of the favorite targets of Sharp-Shined Hawks.

S. Branch of the Root River Through Forestville St. Park. A tributary to this river is shown below.

Forestville Creek, a spring fed trout stream, remains open despite 7 inches of snow and temps 15 degrees below normal.

The Muskrats will soon hole up in their homes for the winter.

The last of the Shovelers feed at New Albin, Iowa before the backwaters of the Mississippi freeze up.