הזיהויים של natureenthusiast05

On this rainy morning, I found this hawk standing in the water, on the edge of a vernal pool. I am sure he saw me and was frozen still for the 15-20 minutes that I observed him, other than blinking every now and then. I stayed about 15 feet away, as I didn't want to stress out the bird. The bird didn't make any effort to flee, so I suspected that something was seriously wrong with him. As I began to retreat, the hawk hobbled away and sought shelter from the rain under a log. Nearby was an old raccoon carcass. Perhaps the hawk had eaten some of it. I sought help immediately and managed to get two park rangers and a friend of mine to come. They arrived within two hours, but sadly, when we got to the spot, the hawk was dead - he had moved a few feet from the spot where I left him and was laying flat on the ground with the wings splayed. The photos show the hawk around 9am, still alive, and then around two hours later, when he had passed away. We believe this to be a juvenile male. He may have starved to death, or perhaps he was hit by a car. Another possibility is that he may have gotten poisoned - the dead raccoon may have been poisoned, or perhaps the hawk ate a poisoned rat. These are just theories...

Originally found by Carl Edwards. I was only able to get terrible photos at sunset. Carl got much better photos which he added to our checklist. Female. Chunky warbler, yellow below, gray above, faint spotting on breast, faint streaks on flanks. Bird was chipping occasionally but very secretive, stuck to dense vegetation briefly perching in pines. Terrible photos taken as sun was setting. Carl has much better photos.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S121073138

Beetle galleries on a dead Ulmus americana. Gray egg masses of the Spotted lanternfly can be seen, as well

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5347208.pdf

https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/elm-bark-beetle