community.kjrh.com

Thanks again, bobdmac! Beautiful, and moving... all of them. The colors and patterns on those kestrels are so gorgeous... and the mother's face so expressive.... and, of course, those babies are such adorable little fuzzies. ... : ) All of those photos on those 3 last-referred sights (I say "all" but I've yet to go completely through the S.F. one... later) are so incredibly sharp/clear, and capture the vibrant natures of the birds so well...Delightful!...I'll enjoy the S.F. hawk more later..This is one of my busy "mainly tend to mom" days.

And yet another site, this one with just a few shots of yet more facets of an urban hawk's life, including how it deals with rain.

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"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" –– A. J. Liebling

Over at the Great River Energy building that has the peregrine falcons which are about to fledge, one fell out on June 29th to a surface below.  They let us all know that it's just fine and the parents are taking care of and feeding him.  They also have a picture of him so we'd all know he's alright.  Thought that was a nice jesture.

Redfinch, here are my screenshots of that event. As the youngster was trying to spread its wings, it looked like its wing hitting the nestbox knocked it off balance, and it fell.

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"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" –– A. J. Liebling

bobdmac:

And yet another site, this one with just a few shots of yet more facets of an urban hawk's life, including how it deals with rain.

This series is lovely, too. I like the beaded water on the feathered heads, baptismal-like. And the hawk who is makin' like a swan in the pooled water. Thanks

I'm glad you ejoyed it, Bville. That "swan" shot cracked me up. As I've checked out all these photos of the urban hawks, it's become clear that these hawks are amazingly sanguine about the proximity of humans.  This one is particularly striking. It's as if she's saying, "I'm bad. You don't want to mess with me!"

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"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" –– A. J. Liebling

A photo of the Chicago billboard hawk from one of the articles about it.

Sorry for the repetition, bobdmac.  I should have known this forum would be up to date on all the happenings.  Wonderful, shots.  Sometimes I don't go back as far as I should on my readings.  We certainly are an observant lot! Have you checked in on the osprey in Scotland?  They say it will be ready to fledge mid to late July.  It's growing so fast now.  I think it will be ready soon.

Hope Socal gets her dinner ready for her guests.  She's a riot! You're right, "Socal's on the loose."

Catbird, have you seen this site yet? It's a wonderful photo essay, broken into chapters (flight, predatory behavior, encounters, plumage, perched, and unusual) about a young hawk inhabiting a park in San Francisco for seven months. The photos are often surprising, sometimes funny, but always excellent, with brief but telling captions.

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"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" –– A. J. Liebling

No problem, Redfinch. Yes, I just closed out the video on the osprey. It's funny, but compared to our hawks and peregrines, the osprey seems pretty darned lazy. It spends a lot of its time curled up, but lately it's been flapping a lot more, and it certainly looks mature enough to fledge.

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"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one" –– A. J. Liebling

Bobdmac: I just saw the redtail photos taken by that person at his/her apartment complex, two FEET from the redtail. What astonishing photos! and playing in the water! and raindrops on feathers!

And thanks for Patch. She is my next stop on what is going to be a terrific night of hawk watching, thanks to your links.

Regarding bobdmac's San Francisco hawk site's photos:
What a hoot...the police called out to facilitate the hawk's meal. Now I call that truly "civilized." The protected rights of a wild thing out of its natural element. Glad to see that. Then the hawk deconstructing one hapless pidgeon in full view of the rest of its buddies, who are just lounging around in the background, not quite bright enough to appreciate their escape from destruction.

Beauty-in-action wise, I favor the shots in which the hawk's wings are caught in the downstroke. (I also love other ones of mantling behavior and of sun-shading.)  What is it about the wings--I've been wondering. Don't know, but one of my favorite poetic images is this one:
...the Holy Ghost over the bent/World broods with warm bre_st and ah! bright wings.
                                                                                                --G.M. Hopkins

If there is anything I've ever wanted to believe, that would be it.

Hi all.  Just got this link today, gorgeous pics of a dark western redtail bringing in various desert creatures to an urban nest, I don't know where.  Particularly like the rattlesnake...

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/655414/0

Bobdmac: These photos of Patch are awesome. I have to leave for a while for errands but will view the rest later. I can't get over the detail on the workings of the feathers/wings in flight. These photos show what an awesomely complex mechanism it is to fly, dip, dive, climb, coast, kite, etc.

Catgirl: The Patch photographer on his intro page identifies his camera/lens. I think what you are getting is even better than he was using! Can't wait!

And another hummingbird vs redtail photo! What amazing pictures.