Red Tail Road

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As I worked on early morning bill paying and Farm Side writing yesterday, our boy came downstairs and said, "Wanna go to NY with me?"

I had to think for a minute, because I was dressed for the barn, and really had work I should be doing, but how could I say no to an offer like that?

So I dumped my coffee in a red Solo cup, grabbed the binoculars and camera because...birds you know....

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And off we went. 

Trips like these are not adventures in Times Square or visiting the Statue of Liberty or shopping for over-priced stuff. He just needed to pay his union dues in Queens.

But still....hours on the road with one of my favorite people....and birds you know....

Of course the Interstate is not an idea birding locale and the city has its limitations, but man, oh, man, did we see Red-tailed Hawks. I wish I had started counting at the beginning of the trip, but we saw dozens of them, often two and three at a time.

I think this is because the mowed areas at the edge of the road, bordered on the other side by brush and trees, offer a wonderful hunting ground.

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At any rate, where some people might play punch buggy, we sang out, "There's one."

"There's another one."

We even saw one swirling up the draft on the side of a gigantic apartment building (which gave me shudders at the horror of living in such a place) and several swooping around right in town.

It was, in an odd way, kind of fun. And now I can say I visited the Big Apple in barn clothes.....not everyone can....

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