Today's Find.... An American Kestrel, an Annoyed Red-tailed Hawk, and the Teneke Eagles

American Kestrel   Falco sparverius   
 Kestrels very often sit on wires to hunt.   This female is scanning  marshy fields.  It's too early for crunchy grass hoppers or many other insects so she'll be possibly looking for voles or mice.

See the two black patches on the back of her neck.  Those are thought to be "false eyes" which may help ward off predators while her back is turned.

She gives me a look then goes back to scanning the fields for prey.
Eventually she heads into the field and I hope to see her kite but instead she lands in a small tree.

Kestrels are the only  North American Falcon who regularly hunts by hovering  (wing flapping) or kiting with spread wings in wind.

Remember last breeding season in NYC, Octavia, Pale Male's mate, would kite above the Fifth Avenue nest to summon her fledgling's eyes before she demonstrated her life lesson of the moment.

I find a new angle on the Eagle's nest. 

 Forgive the dreadful photograph, but when I cropped the one above down...glory be!  You can see into the nest.  Which appears to have the female sitting with Dad on the right.

Then I spot a Red-tailed Hawk who just might belong to the Seventh Fence Post Nest.  She's too far away to see much in the way of identifying marks.

Here's the Seventh Fence Post Nest. 

It looks about the same as when I was here last and no obvious occupant.   I drive a little farther, stop again, and get out.

A Red-tail flies over my head.

Adjusts her flight to the left.

Lands in the crown of an oak tree.

She gives me "the look".  

Yes, this is the female. 
 Not only will she be bigger if you see the pair together but females just look hawier than the males do. 

 Hard to explain but when you've seen lots of hawks you start to get the feel of it.

Think about Pale Male's face.  I know this sounds weird but he looks more big eyed and cuddly.  That's the difference.  

Females never look cuddly.

Speaking of which she keeps giving me "the look".

I decide to leave and find another spot to view the Eagle's nest.

  See the white head center nest?  Mom?   Where did Dad go?  

Sigh.

It is ever so much easier in Central Park as there is no private land so you can get much closer...and the birds don't care.  Also during raptor nesting season unless there is inclement weather there are a whole lot more eyes watching what these guys are up to.

It gives you a fighting chance.

Speaking of which,  I don't know if this is Mom or Dad Eagle but whoever it is, is staring at me fixedly.

Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne

Raptor Tracking -Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks

 Enough with winter, I headed over to the conservation area just outside Brodhead, WI.

 See the  juvenile Eagle?  Midway up the tree on the left. That's the use of juvenile as in fledged last season.  See her center?
What I didn't notice right away was the mature one in the same tree.

 See her center?

How about now?  She's peering at me from her blind.

 This is part of the scene the two Eagles appear to be watching.

 Evidentally the prey isn't cooperating because they keep sitting and watching.  Plus the mature Eagle keeps looking down at the young Eagle.  I begin to wonder if White Head thinks the youngster isn't helping matters as she is so obvious.  If you are fishing it doesn't matter so much but hunting birds  is a different thing altogether.  Or perhaps there is prey beneath them but then one would thing at the younger bird would be watching that as well.

They sit, they watch, I move on.

 There are Canada Goose everywhere.  There are on the move and every body of water, soggy fields, and mushy depressions are full of them.

The Teneyke EagleNest.

Both of the Bald Eagle pair are at home.  Mom on the right and Dad on the left.  

 I wait.



Then I wait some more.
It doesn't appear that they are going to do anything as long as I'm watching them.  


It's a stand off. 

 I decide to head around the corner to the alternative view.

But by the time I get round the corner to the alternative view, only Mom is up there.

Then I wait some more.  They really aren't going to do anything today if I'm watching. 

 Interesting.

Therefore I begin to take pictures in which the nest is not my focal point.

The edge of the field.

The far end of the field.

 The road.  I turn the camera back to the nest.  Next up... the nest.

Ta da!  Yup. You guessed it.  Dad is back. 

Sigh.  There is a reason for the expression "eagle eye".

They see so well they just wait for my eye to be elsewhere. 

FINE.  Time to check out the Seventh Post Red-tail Nest. 

 See it?

 It still appears that no one is home as yet.  I head back to the conservation area.

 Super!  She hasn't flown away yet.

 She is perched in a tree much closer to to the foraging waterfowl.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

D.B.

AND IN CASE YOU WANT AN EASY VIEW OF A NESTING PAIR....

 Decorah Eagle Cam
 http://www.news8000.com/news/decorah-eagle-cam/10958

Stealth the Coopers Hawk, Aardvarks, Pale Male, and Yes, a Meteorite

 12:07:46  (All times PM) Note Stealth the Cooper's Hawk is sitting on the back fence, out in the open in a snow storm, big as live, near the sheltered feeding area.  Also note there aren't many if any feeder birds around.

Yes, the hawk now has a name.  I figured she might as well have, as she is the one who has likely been lurking for the last few weeks causing long stretches of deserted feeders. 

 By the way,  the sex of this hawk is still under consideration though I'm leaning toward female. 

 12:11:09  Note that the feeder birds are still congregated on the left, south, side of the lilac tree which is quite twiggy giving some protection from the hawk who seems to have disappeared.

12:42:43  The next time I pass through the kitchen there are only a few feeder birds in the lilac. 

12:43:11 The rest are making quick work of the seed on the ground.  I didn't realize it at the time but the usual group of Dark Eyed Juncos isn't on the ground feeding with the rest.  Nor are they in the lilac tree.

12:43:20  For whatever reason a couple Cardinals and a few sparrows and yes, there is actually one Junco are staying in the twiggy part of the lilac.
 Then I saw something as I looked at the photographs.

 See it?  What is the Cardinal looking at?

See what the Cardinal is looking at now?  Stealth is sitting in the lilac tree.  Big as life and twice as brazen.

She hasn't moved a muscle.  And what is she watching?

THIS.

As I'd not seen she was there,  I didn't have to make a decision.  I just went off about my business in another part of the house.

Though, upon thought,  we wouldn't disturb Pale Male while he was hunting would we?


Happy Hawking
Donegal Browne

 http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/12/16/aardvarks/

As to why the aardvarks?  I find them remarkably endearing.  Plus Aardvarls have their own private niche in the Order Tubulidentata and the only living member of the Family Orycteropodidae as well.
They are it. 


Photo Courtesy of Francois Portmann

SPEAKING OF PALE MALE--
In case you haven't seen it yet....
Check out Francois Portmann's video of  Pale Male bearding the 2016 blizzard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BNRlwhNTc&feature=youtu.be

Once again I am amazed at Pale Male's tenacity, verve, and his capacity for being in the moment reasonably unfazed.


PLUS we're always told that for whatever reason meteorites and falling space junk just don't hit people?  
Well just maybe they do...

Indian scientists are investigating whether a man was killed by a meteorite, which if confirmed would be the first recorded death from falling fragments of space rock in almost 200 years.

http://in.reuters.com/article/india-meteorite-death-tamilnadu-idINKCN0VH111