First Bike Ride - 9.8 miles and 10 whole degrees

Temperatures have continued to drop here...today's "high" was 10 degrees. However, I've been antsy to get out and try for some birds, so I decided to bundle up and go for it this afternoon. I got my winter gear together, and tried a different arrangement of layers, similar to what I used to use when played outdoor broomball years ago - coveralls with multiple thinner layers. 

A chilly first ride! Yeah, I look a little ridiculous - but I'm quite visible to drivers, which is important.

I decided to bike over a little patch of open water that I noticed nearby a while ago. There are also some nice restored grasslands and some wetlands along the route that gave me hope for a Rough-legged Hawk, maybe? After getting my new bike ready, I started out on the road. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what I'm thinking! I wondered the same after the first mile...

That wind was cold. My gear did what it needed to, and I was warm overall (but not too warm), but my face protection needs an upgrade - frozen breath and thin cloth are a bad combination for breathability. It was ok...but I'd prefer something a little more intentionally designed. 

The first two miles were rough, and I was wondering if I'd was going to be able to do it. Plus the road shoulder was pretty narrow in a few places, and there was more traffic than I'd like. Fortunately my bright hat and hockey sweater are quite bright, and I hopped off the road when needed. Wasn't terrible getting a rest now and then either, not to mention scanning for those Rough-legged Hawks. Angry American Crows tipped me off to another raptor- Cooper's Hawk! Not super rare, but I'll take it! 

I got into the flow more after that and made it to the little wetland. It was full of Mallards! I scanned through them all hoping for an American Black Duck, or something else different multiple times, and had some water. Probably about 125 Mallards, and one solitary Canada Goose - that's it. Oh well, they were both new green birds, and they all count! Time to start back home. 

 

The ride back was definitely easier, and a little more downhill. That wind was still cold though. I think 10 degrees is JUST a little too cold for bike rides, at least with the wind the way it was. I may stick to travel by foot until a little warmer day presents itself. I made some great progress back though, and several flocks of American Tree Sparrows flushed into the weedy fields along the way. 

On my second pass along the restored grassland, I stopped for a bit and just waited for that Rough-legged Hawk. A buteo flew up over the horizon - but too big, and with that characteristic red tail of the more common Red-tailed Hawk. Then another Red-tail. Neat, but not the Rough-legged Hawk I wanted. While I was preparing to leave, a Ring-necked Pheasant flushed from the roadside in front of me into the grassland. That's not a super exciting bird, but a new one! Time to get going before the sun drops and it gets even colder...

Nice restored grassland. I'll have to keep this one in mind for later in the year!

A Bald Eagle flyover gave me my final new species for the ride. All in all, not bad, and I was pleased to have been mostly comfortable-ish, despite my fitness level needing work. With the handful of new birds on the ride, plus a few new feeder birds, I've got my total up to 23 "green" species now, with a couple of decent ones. Good stuff. 

Tomorrow, I think I'll stay closer to home and maybe try to get a picture of that Northern Shrike. I have Thursday off next week for President Carter's funeral - what better way to honor him than get out and enjoy nature, and raise money for bird conservation! If it's warm enough, maybe I'll try to get over to a couple of local hotspots along the Minnesota River.

9.8 miles rode today. If you'd like to support my Green Big Year, and great work that the Friends of Sax Zim Bog are doing, please reach out to me a 25bigyear@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!