I spent several mostly-frustrating hours Thursday and Friday mornings in Woodstock, VT. I’m still regretting I did not head there Wednesday immediately after I received the email from Nathaniel Sharp of Vermont Center for Ecostudies of the Crested Caracara found by Kevin Rice. But I finally got my act together Thursday very early, and two of us spent two to three hours smelling a dead skunk and staring into the trees seeing nothing but pine needles.
Thursday evening a friend sent me a great photo he had gotten of the Caracara that afternoon. And then I saw some more beautiful photos posted on FB. So I decided to try again Friday.
I arrived Friday before 9 and scoped out the area along Route 12 and near the museum admin office seeing nothing except many more photographers than the morning before. So in desperation I headed up Route 12 a bit and found some Tom Turkeys displaying for a large group of females.
Back at the area where the Caracara was first seen a bit after 10, some folks pointed out the bird high in the pines across the river. I tend to not look that far away realizing that even if I spot a bird, a decent photo would be impossible. Here is the photo I got of the Caracara at 600mm equivalent. It is in the middle of the photo if you can’t find it.
Knowing where it was, I headed over to the park admin building and walked behind it. I got a closer shot, still not great, but at least the bird can be clearly seen.
I hiked up a hill hoping for a better angle. Some folks were already there but had not found the bird. I pointed it out to them and set up short of the group. Then the bird flew. I got a few shots. Here is one.
It flew back toward Route 12. So I hustled back, giving Blake a ride to the parking area. Folks gathered there and found it high in a pine across the road.
I set up a bit past them and lamented the fact that the Caracara did not seem to want to come close and pose. Here is a photo at 24mm equivalent. The bird is in the circle.
Here is the best photo I could get from this distant spot.
I decided to head down the road a bit knowing I would likely not get as good an angle on the perched bird but guessing that it might fly that way if it ever decided to move. Here is a shot from the new viewpoint.
Fifteen minutes later, it flew. Amazingly fast. Heading south toward downtown Woodstock and perhaps Mexico.
I got a series of shots as it flew. I believe that the last photo in this slide show is the last one anyone took of this bird in Vermont.
When I headed home Thursday I tried to salvage something. I needed to trip my shutter a few times. Along the very rutted and muddy River Road I found some Common Merganser backlit in the Ottauquechee River. I hopped out of my car and got some photos with my trusty Sony RX10 IV, a great carry-everywhere camera.
I did not get the killer close-up shots of the Caracara I hoped for, but I got out and enjoyed nature in a beautiful part of Vermont.