Birds of prey.

We have red-tailed hawks, and the odd bald eagles passing through.

Any of the raptors in your back yard?

Too many, by a bunch.

Red-tails, red shouldered, Cooper's, sharp-shinned, and kestrels for hawks. Screech and barred owls. An occasional osprey and bald eagle drifting through.

Red-tailed hawks, bald eagles and brown (golden) eagles.

eagles are like crows here. They wait for you to run something over.

all kinds
bald(lots and lots of these around) and golden eagles

fair number of prairie falcons and kestrels may have the occasional peregrine, gryfalcon(havent seen one bt a friend has) and merlins

northern harriers

as far as hawks: redtail, sharp-shined, broadwinged, coopers, northern goshawk, rough-legged, swainsons and ferruginius

osprey

as far as owls: burrowing, eastern screech, great horned, long eared, short eared, snowy(saw one a few weeks ago), northern saw whet, and northern hawk owl(another ive not seen but a friend has)


favorites i always like seeing are the harriers, kestrels, prairie falcons and burrowing owls

Oh? Why? Enlighten us.

Harriers hawks, bald eagles, golden eagles, osprey and great horn owls are the ones I see the most in Colorado (that I reconize). Do see a lot on fences, trees, light poles and the like, but no idea what they are. Sometimes see a swainson's hawk.

Rattler, I forgot about the harriers. Damn, what a gorgeous, graceful bird. We have a few here, too.

yeah, really common here, they are usually cruising 20 foot above the ground across the wheat fields looking for mice.....

i should throw the loggerhead and northern shrikes up there, not true birds of prey but they sure give'er hell to act like one

A while back, I saw a mounted osprey on the wall in NW Ontario.

When I asked about the legality of it, he said the ministry owed him one.

I was impressed with that bird.

spent more than a few days out on the lake with one fishing the same bay i was.......makes a slow fishing day entertaining and all the more frustrating that the damn hawk can catch a fish and i cant

I don't get it. Raptors are the finest flyers(after me). We have Red Tails and Red Shoulderd Hawks right now. Lots of Sparrow a Hawks and a few Coopers. Screech and Barn Owls. One Bald Eagle that I know of. We get a few Ospreys in the summer. Love em.

We have lots here but I couldn't tell you what they are. I reaally like the snowy owls though, very cool looking bird. Saw a little tiny hawk come down and grab a robin out of mid air right outside the archery club a couple summers ago, which was pretty cool.

Power poles out in the (treeless)country sure haven't helped the grouse any.

Seagulls are the worst when they follow the swather around and pick off pheasant chicks. I think some guys carry a shotgun in the cab for that very reason.

We've got a few little super speedsters that will drive bomb the cows when they are lined out feeding. Zoom down, flush and pick off the occasional cowbird or starling.

I've tried getting a pic but they are way too fast.

i dont get it either, love watching them....main killer of game birds we have is cold wet springs killing chicks.....birds of prey are alot farther down the list....hell crows might be harder on the game birds than the birds of prey cause they will spend the time figuring out where the nests are to eat the eggs.....

in even my short life time ive watched an explosion of bird of prey numbers around here but havent seen them have much of an effect on game bird numbers in the same time....the spring weather seems to dictate the numbers FAR more than anything....

I'll bet the tiny hawk was a Sparrowhawk. Very maneuverable. I saw one buzz a tree full of wrens one time, flushing them out of the tree. The hawk then did a 360 degree turn and grabbed one in flight. Incredible!

forgot about the seagulls Sam but your right there aswell....they are pretty damn predatory aswell and thicker than birds of prey.....

Don't forget about the damn feral cats that stupid people spay/neuter and then turn back out into neighborhoods and the outskirts of town.

Falcons? I'd love to watch a falcon hunt.

Falcons or kestrels(?) heck if I know but they are awesome flyers.

You don't even know they're around until you see this little black/brown rocket come smokin' past!

There is a certain cottonwood tree(out of thousands...) roughly 3/4 mile away from where we've been feeding and they've nested in it for several years in a row. Couple years ago I saw what appeared to be an adult or big chick sitting on the ground near the nesting tree. It didn't move and I walked right up to it. Not sure if it was injured or what so all I could do was just leave it alone.

About the size of a pop can.

Kestrels are small falconiformes. They hunt in very similar fashions.

If you want to be in awe of something hunting in the air, watch a goshawk.

a kestrel is just a small type of falcon

I think we have just about everything but Snowy Owls. There is a lot of stuff this area ain't, but if you wildlife, we have plenty of it.

Oh okay, thanks for the clarification, learned something today!

I have been up close and personal with a Great Horned Owl. Let me tell you, that was one bad dude!

Sam, I have come to appreciate anyone that can catch a bird in flight with a camera.

I know of a guy who was driving down a section line with the windows open and a hawk flew in the cab. Talk about oh chit!


Also heard a story about an old timer(pre-cab days) who was out on his tractor working a field and a hawk accidently dive bombed right into his back. Guess it scared the ever livin' chit outta him as well.

Sam if you(or anyone else in MT) havent run across this, its handy at times:

http://fieldguide.mt.gov/default.aspx

http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displayFamily.aspx?class=Aves

http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNKD06020

You name it we got it.

Richard, it is tough for sure, especially when you're bouncin' around in the pickup over a field of frozen cow turds!




Sheridan, thanks for the links, I'll have to check that out.

Man, ain't THAT the truth.

....and one never knows WHAT is going to blow in off the Pacific / Sea of Cortez, either.

GTC

I heard a story about an ole boy wearing a grey Stetson while hunting. A big Red Shouldred Hawk dived on him and took his hat. I'd have to let have drawers too.

I've a friend who lost a hat and some rather impressive streaks of scalp to a GHO some years back. It seems that chewing gum with a grey beard in the right light must look like a squirrel.

He shaved his head due to the scars, and the beard to avoid any more.

I bet he was cussin' when the hawk lifted his Stetson!



Little safer inside the cab, cheap entertainment.


Looking.....




Mouse!

Awesome. Well done.

We have redtails and a couple of other smaller hawks I have never totally identified. Ospreys, owls of a couple of varieties and the occasional wayward bald eagle.

You have red shouldered (they have a russet breast), broadwings during some seasons, Cooper's, sharp-shinned, and American kestrels.

One of the most awesome things I have ever witnessed was about 7-8 years ago. My buddy and I were out driving a rural gravel road when we stopped to take a leak.

Standing there when notice 2 bald eagles flying around about 4-500 yards away. Not an uncommon sight until they both flew way in the hell up in the air and pretty much locked talons(?) and spiraled down to the ground.

Spinning and twisting around until they got fairly close to the ground when they separated. They repeated this 2-3 times and of course we just stood along the road and took it all in.

It was late March or April when it took place and the only thing we could think of was they were mating.

Neither of us had ever seen anything like it. Pretty wild maneuvering.

yep Sam thats their courting display and usually happens in April....very cool you saw in person.....seen hundreds of bald eagles but have only seen that via video....

Take a trip to the Chesapeake. That amazing display is on display a lot. It never ceases to amaze.

If the nature shows have it correct, yes, mating.

It was fricken nuts for sure.

I've watched eagles chase each other around a few times but never anything remotely close to this behavior.

Well, Sam, it's about the birds, and the bees,----.

Look at me, I'm highjackin' my own thread!

We mostly see Redtails and Chicken Hawks here in N. TX. The only place I've ever seen a bald eagle, is in Colorado.

When I'm plowing our big fields in one of our big JD. tractors in the fall, and the hawks are migrating through, I've seen over 150 of various hawks circling my tractor, waiting for me to plow the last spot of weeds that the rabbits are all huddled in. It's an amazing sight to watch!

Yes, and too darn many.. Add magpies and ravens, it is a wonder we have any grouse left..

They even clip the ears here. Just dumb!

Pretty sure either they or the redtails found my KOI pond. I'm down from 25 to 7 prized fish.

Development is hurting grouse numbers more than any predation.

"Nyah, nyah, look at the big tough raptor!" (To Mock a Killingbird)

Had a Cooper's Hawk take and tear up a towhee in the backyard this afternoon. Damn cool; sad to see it a towhee (I like those little birds), but feeders attract all birds.

Damn Sam, you are most definitely handy with that camera!

Lots of em buzzing the river in front of my place.

I even bought a book so's I can identify them but it ain't easy, even with good bino's.

I still love watching them though.

About 50' from my front door.


Owl perched on my hand rail. Had to take the pic through the glass.


This one was very interested in my Gofer shooting activities.

Way too many Red Tails and a few Great Horned.

There are quite a few bald eagles (many of them immature) that winter at Lake Buchanon, in central Texas

We have tons of red tail hawks here, and a few large owls. Also caracaras, which I had never seen previously.

There are also missing Chihuahua and cat posters in the neighborhood

would like to see a caracara.....always struck me as an interesting bird for some reason....

I saw an eagle right at the Iredell/Rowan line last year. It was feeding on a deer carcass. I saw another in Montgomery county, between Mount Gilead and Troy, two years ago.

About the same down here, this cheeky rascal allowed me to get within five feet or so:

Since I cant get the link to post, Google "Decorah eagle cam" its a live feed of a nesting Bald eagle. Mostly boring to watch, but sometimes you can see her turn her eggs. This may have been posted here before, if so sorry for the repost.

I don't have Sam's touch, but I'll post this Redtail.
He was perched on the old auger till he took umbrage with having his picture taken.

Richard, here's a real big 'hawk'.

Nice Sam.

Turkey Vultures don't seem much like raptors, but we have those around come warmer weather.

Had the camera overlooking a deer carcass for coyotes and caught this...





Owl

Richard, we get turkey vultures as well. Usually a little flock of about 5-7 of 'em perch up in the cottonwoods and spy on us.

I tease my dad that his pets showed back up.


I think the bird above is an immature bald eagle?

They only get the sick and old. No problem if you dont like prarie chickens, quail, etc.