I have been trying to get a good shot of a Zone-tailed Hawk for quite sometime now. For some reason, the ones I see are very shy and fly away as soon as they see me.
This guy took off right away, but flew over me for about 10 seconds before flying far away, so I was able to snap a couple of pictures of this beautiful bird:
As promised, here are some pics of the Snowy Owl that has migrated to Colorado this winter. Special thanks goes to our fellow birder and photographer Tom, who was kind enough to not only show me where the bird is, but also to drive me there before sunrise!
The pictures are not good, because it was very cold and we didn’t spend much time waiting for a good opportunity…maybe next time! :)
While driving with my kids to a local park for birding, I saw this hawk flying around very low. I was slowly making a turn and continued watching the bird to see what happens next. All of a sudden, the hawk dove into the ground and I knew he was going to have a catch. Then he flew up and I clearly saw some sort of a rodent in his claws. I quickly grabbed my camera and drove towards a pole where he sat to first kill the rodent, then to consume it.
Click “read more” only if you are OK with seeing some gruesome details of a hawk consuming a mouse. Although there is no blood in the animation, some people might feel sick watching this, so I’m just warning you :)
Hawk with a mouse
Sibley’s guide to birds tells me this is a red-shouldered hawk. Captured in Orlando, FL during my last trip:
The spring migration is over and my favorite raptors are back!
Great Horned Owl:
Burrowing Owl:
This guy flew directly overhead, checking out what I was up to…
This is a light morph of the species that only migrate to Colorado in winter.
Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal in the world. It can reach up to 200 miles/hour while diving!
This one was captured in Black Canyon National Park, CO.
