Well, I did finally get a go-pro (hero4)- but man, there's going to be a learning curve there! video is way more edit-intensive than photo. Hopefully I've have it figured out by next week.

Anyhoo, one our other "projects" this year is to try to add a Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) to the fam.

They're the largest and fastest of the N.A. hawks, with the biggest females approaching the size of a male eagle. wingspan up to 5.5 feet, 2kg in weight.

In fact, their classification is somewhat in dispute --- are they a hawk, hawk-eagle, or eagle?

Many falconers believe they should rightly be classified as a booted eagle but right now they're a hawk so you don't have to be a Master falconer to have one on permit.

I helped a friend take an eyas from a nest in July, but I didn't have my ducks in a row back then to take one too, so I'll have to actually trap one the hard way (have about six located, will let you know!)

here's the one we got earlier:

this is momma:



juvie fully feathered out:










IMHO, they're the sharpest looking of all N.A. raptors

the word Regal comes to mind looking at the bottom pics.

We had a ball feeding them, on our first prairie dog trip to SD some years back. I didn't know what kind of bird they were, but they sure were pretty,, and did a fine job cleaning up the carcasses we were scattering to the winds.


Noisy things, though, you should have heard them fussing when a prairie dog would fall apart as they took off.................................

Beautiful, just beautiful UtahLefty.....

Ferrugies are primo prairie dog hunters -- they don't just play whack-a-mole --- they actually get the mole.


interestingly, they have 2X the strength of a RT (4X a Harris Hawk) but their feet are only half the size.

(maybe helps with the whack-a-mole ??)



thinking is coming full circle on them ---> they're more successful at controlling prairie dogs than shooting and poisoning combined

So glad to see some raptor pics again. Thanks!

RS

Amazing stuff, as always. Thanks!

As usual, very cool pictures! That is one beauty of a bird.

They ARE beautiful birds, I didn't know what kind of bird it was until I got home and looked it up. The white breast feathers were the giveaway. Heck, I'd never even heard of them until that trip.
They really are good looking birds. I looked it over pretty well thru the scope (with the bolt open) as I sure didn't want any accidents. I enjoy looking at burrowing owls and big hawks while I'm in a PD patch.
It ain't ALL about killing PDs, the other stuff is just as fun to watch and experience whenever I'm out west.
Just this week, I saw armadillos, which I'd never seen before, and some other things that I'd not experienced in the wild, either. It's never a bad thing to see new critters that we don't have here in Kentucky.

I really look forward to this time of year when you start posting hawk pictures.

Wow. Seriously wow. That connection to nature is just incredible. I can see how it can be all consuming.

wait til I get the videos figured out Pugs!

Nice, Matt.

They have a hole in the tongue?

normal position of the tracheal opening Mike. It's shifted forward so they can swallow large chunks and still breathe (like a snake).


More ferrugie fun facts:

1.) they have the largest mouth opening (gape) of any raptor -- they can swallow a prairie dog or squirrel whole.

2.) see the black "prongs" on the sides of the tongue? those are also unique to ferrugies. sort of an anti-regurg device (they often try to steal from each other when swallowing large chunks and these help retain possession)

Help me a little with avian anatomy. The trachea is anterior to the esophagus?

When the throat has a chunk of food in it, the air goes through the tongue into the trachea?

they can thrust their tongue quite a ways forward when food is in the throat and breathe through that hole while food goes down the larger opening in the back (esophagus) and into the crop

here's the closest close-up I've got




tracheal opening is left, esophageal opening is back and right

Got it now. Thanks!

Most enjoyable - thanks. We've seen quite a few Ferruginous Hawks up close here over the years, and they are excellent at grabbing chipmunks/ground squirrels, prairie dogs and even an Ebert squirrel now and then (those seem to resist/fight more). These birds are impressive.

However, it seems thay are only here for a while and then gone. Do they migrate over long distances. I have heard some folks here refer to them as "rough legged" hawks and am wondering it they are one and the same. Info?

rough legged hawks are a completely different species, and they migrate south to you in winter:



ferruginous hawks have no black sub-terminal tail band.

juvie ferrugies have white legs, and adults have red / rust legs.

ferrugies are short range migrators and you are in both their year round and winter range. see map:

http://www.hawkwatch.org/learn/factsheets/item/638-ferruginous-hawk

Not your birds, but Thursday a Redtail tried to bite off more than he could chew when he attempted to make a meal of a 5' Black rat snake. He was about done when I separated the two. Funny thing is the snake went up a pine and the hawk stayed on the ground for a while catching his breath.

Great pics as usual, It must be a rush to hunt with em. I think a little aerial (predator) bird on (prey)bird action would be the ultimate show.
I've seen a small kestrel(?) nail a dove one time. it sounded and looked like someone slapped the stuffing out of a feather pillow.
Numerous times I've seen doves picked up out of fields during a dove shoot.

on the wing peregrine and gyrfalcon dives are loud

ours:

here's a chukar caught on the wing this month:



and a pheasant on the wing from last year:




I don't have pics, but watching the kestrel chase live dragonflies inside the house it a riot!

Thanks for the info cite on these birds.

I love these threads!

Soooo cool.

twofish