big bird

[schmism]

dont think i posted these hear


http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/bird_1.jpg
http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/bird_2.jpg
http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/bird_3.jpg

(as with any pics the scale is hard to get... the branch he is sitting on is about a 4-5" branch in my front brush pile)

My bird book says imature red tailed hawk. I post it know because i was just at the kitchen window watching 2 very large birds of prey circleing the front feild.

Anyone know how they pair? (pair for life?) i found it odd to have 2 so close together if they werent both a pair.

 

[Coyote]

There is strong evidence that they mate for life, but no conclusive studies yet.

 

[RobS]

We have a pair in our area. One is quite a bit larger than the other, I assume male/female. They are fun to watch and I've heard if you put out some meat they will come down for it. I'm contemplating a new camera lens with hopes of getting some tight shots of them. Neat pics!

 

[schmism]

ya my camera isnt NEARLY good enough to take good shots of him. I grabed my digital camcorder which has a 20x optical zoom. But doesnt take the best pics.

he was VERY impressive through the feild glasses!

They are surpriseingly active in my area. I think its a combination of rural big feilds surrounding just enough "town" to generate lots of good food source.

Ill have to put some meat out and see what i can get. (if the local dogs dont get to it first)

 

[RobS]

Ill have to put some meat out and see what i can get. (if the local dogs dont get to it first)

Put it up on a post or something out of reach of the dogs.

Hawks seem much more plentiful in recent years. I attended a photo shoot a couple years ago at a raptor rahap facility. It was really something to be so close to these birds. Every bird in their care had been hit by a car. Hawks, Owls, Kestrels, Falcons and even a Bald Eagle.

Amazing animals!

 

[RobS]

I hope you don't mind schmism, but I dug out a red tail pic from the rehab shoot. His feathers are a bit mussed from handling and he has one droopy wing from his injury. Beautiful bird though.

 

[LMTC]

Put it up on a post or something out of reach of the dogs.

Hawks seem much more plentiful in recent years. I attended a photo shoot a couple years ago at a raptor rahap facility. It was really something to be so close to these birds. Every bird in their care had been hit by a car. Hawks, Owls, Kestrels, Falcons and even a Bald Eagle.

Amazing animals!

More plentiful is an understatement here. Used to be I might see a hawk every few weeks or so. Now I see one virtually any day I drive in the area, or even walk our own 5 acres. One day we counted while taking a drive of app. 30 minutes and saw 5 hawks sitting...in trees or on posts, one on a wire. A young male claimed our pines as home a couple seasons ago and has come seriously close (like 5' or less one time) to me when I mow at times; he often circles near me just screaming. They've become common in this area. I understood them to be territorial, but that really doesn't seem to be the case.....unless their territory is about 200yds x 200 yds.

Last fall I saw something huge through a window...just a glance, and I was 20' from the window...so I went to the window with binoculars (which I did NOT need) to see a Great Horned Owl sitting about 30' from the house...mid-morning. Now that was strange. 3rd time I've seen a Great Horned, and they are impressive....it was clearly large enough to take a cat or small dog.

 

[JB4310]

The cool thing about birds of prey is that even as big as they are, they make almost no noise when they fly, little tweety birds wings make more noise. I was walking around my back yard one night and felt this big swoosh right next to me, it was dark but I could see that it was a "big bird" swooping something off the ground, the only thing I could think of was an Owl, didn't make any noise, just felt the wind. I have Red Tails in my yard every day, though they do not nest here. I see them swooping down but usually come up empty, I have seen them cruising over head with a still alive squirrel kicking away firmly in their grip.

Ours are very timid and do not like people, they will fly off if you walk in the woods even if they are high up in the trees. the only time I see them together is when the young are with the mother, it's hard to tell since the are close in size, they must have a high mortality rate as I have found dead young on several occasions.

Found this young one having lunch one day last year, crawled up to within 3 feet of it, he did not want to give up that meal, must have been hungry. fluffed up his head and neck feathers to scare me and it worked, I stopped getting closer, when he did try to fly with his lightened kill, he only went about 40 feet and roosted on a pile of wood.
Pictures are graphic, hope they do not offend anyone.

 

[RobS]

Cool pics JB (I guess they have to be from a CoolPix, eh?).

 

[schmism]

This one was surpriseingly "tame" i went out the back door and walked all the way behind the barn, and came up behind the vehicals parked in the driveway and snuck out behind them to get a better shot of his back.

Then after i got my shot, i just got up and walked around front giveing him only about 20' birth. he just sat there and looked at me.

about 10 min later it was time to go out and we came out the front door, (people first, then the dogs) as soon as the dog paw hi the front porch he saw him and took off. My labs gave chase (as they do with just about any creacher that is in the front yard when they go out) but they didnt have a chance.