Expect the Unexpected

I just learned, or relearned, a lesson about being prepared.  Made a short drive to a nearby park to scout an abandoned road known to have a lot of birds.  I wasn't seeing a lot of birds, until I was nearly back to my car.  A beautiful Redtail Hawk flew in over my head and landed in a willow tree beside the road. I admired him with my binoculars and continued toward the bird, as a single crow fussed at the hawk. As I drew closer, the hawk flew very low over me and landed beside the road. Binoculars revealed that the hawk was returning to a rabbit kill. All I had was my cell camera. I had not expected the unexpected.

The Redtail Hawk held its ground, feeding eagerly, and allowed me to approach to a mere 12 feet.  It showed no concern with me, but that was my limit. I got low and attempted a photo with a very inadequate, wide angle lens.  My cropped image is below. Not very good.

I felt pretty stupid.  Not wanting to stress the bird which I decided was a juvenile, I walked back to the car  hoping that in the early morning, I could be there with a "real" camera when it returned. I was in the car with the key in the ignition when I felt pretty silly.  My full camera kit was in the trunk.  But, I also was elated to reverse course.  Now, birds don't see you in a car, so that greatly reduces any stress on the bird. I slowly drove back with my big lens and true to form, the bird ignored the car. Here is what I got for my effort.

It is a beautiful bird in nice warm light.  Soon, I backed out and went home with the idea that the hawk would again be there in the early morning.  Sure enough, I arrived to see it perched in a large tree next to the road.

I eased the car to the place I'd seen the rabbit, but it was not there.  I thought, "not a good sign", and backed  the car to where I could watch the hawk; it was attracting a chorus of Blue Jays and smaller birds.  It was a mob.  The hawk seemed to tire of this and swooped away into the dense brush near the kill.  After a wait, I eased there to see it pulling the rabbit back out. It had hidden its kill for the  night. Interesting. The hawk just about finished off the rabbit, and then "posed" for one last photo.

Hopefully, I learned my lesson.  My good fortune revealed some very close details on a glorious bird, and some greater understanding of hawk behavior. I'm hoping this juvenile will stay in the area and have continued success. The first year is pretty tough on a predator.

Be prepared.

Paul

Redtail Hawk Nest- Week One

Once again this year, a pair of Redtail Hawks are nesting on a rock wall in a Finger Lakes gorge. This is about week one of the process.  I made a two minute video of the the male RTH flying in to relieve the female and sit on the two eggs. There are two still images made the same day of the female RTH shifting on the eggs. (Sorry, no sound. It would just be wind in the trees anyway.)

Hope to regularly update you with new videos as the eggs hatch and the young are raised.

Paul

Birds and Blooms

True to my blog's name, today was birds and blooms, just in reverse order. Began the day at Cornell Plantation's Mundy Wildflower garden with another skilled photographer.  It's always enlightening to see how two photographers can stand next to one another and end up with widely different and equally interesting photos. It is an excellent way to increase your creativity.

The Wild Geraniums instantly got my interest.  Just love their color and simple form.

While the garden is devoted to native plants, it is virtually impossible to keep non-native plants out.  Think of how impossible it is to banish dandelions for your garden or lawn. 

So, the garden also has masses of lovely pink and purple Dame's Rocket. Now, this plant is widely called Phlox, but it is not.  Phlox has the same colors, but it has five petals.  This has four. I am sure the small bee on the flower doesn't care what the name is. End of botany lesson.

I have Dame's Rocket around my yard, and while I do pull it, I've accepted that it will not be defeated.  I accept it in small numbers because the colors are appreciated and it would be too much work to do otherwise. It is a truce.

And, as I continued in the garden, the Dame's Rocket provided a nice framing to some Cow Parsnip that just began to bloom. Cow Parsnip is a sort of coarse and ungainly plant. The bees love it.

Usually, Cow Parsnip grows in large, ungainly masses that make it difficult to photograph in such a way that a single plant's form is clearly seen. So, I liked this combination of Cow Parsnip and Dame's Rocket.

As I continued, I found another plant just beginning to bloom, and it is one of my favorites, Blue Flag.

By this time, I was growing hungry, my companion had to go, and the wind was making it nearly impossible to photograph flowers and get sharp images. Time to grab a Subway and eat while I observed a nearby  Redtail Hawk nest.  Arrived to find one adult perched nearby.  At first, it flew from a perch behind where I stand on the bridge and went to a perch directly above the nest, and then into the nest. The two chicks were dozing. It soon left the nest.

It returned to the perch behind me where I could see it was watching something in the wooded area.  It flew into the woods, but returned to the perch with no prey. It was likely a squirrel or chipmunk.

What happened next was pretty exciting as the bird launched from the tree and flew nearly directly overhead on its way to the nest.

After some time, one chick must have rung the dinner bell and the adult hawk responded.  She pulled a grey squirrel up from inside the nest and began to deliver bits of food.  The other chick in the back watched but did not join in, eventually going off to sleep.

I figured the action was over for awhile since sleep usually follows food. Time to head home and start the long process of downloading and editing. 

All in all, a pretty good day of birds and blooms.

Paul
 

It's all about the birds and the bees.

Ask yourself what comes to mind when you hear  "the birds and the bees".  My Friday outing was all about the birds and the bees.  Really!  Read on.

There are now multiple websites that have a live stream of an active nest - Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons and Redtail Hawks, to name a few. One of the very popular ones shows a pair of Redtails nesting on a very high light tower on the campus of Cornell University.
See:  Cornell Redtail Hawk Nest

I've heard many people admit to watching this on their computer for long periods of time. Some are doing so when they should be working. Such is the magnetic interest that the cycle of new life has on us.

To my good fortune,  I have been directed to a cliff side nest of Redtail Hawks in the Fall Creek Gorge near the Cornell campus, and the location is perfect for photography.  Even better, it is not a man made structure but "au natural" with no voyeuristic component.  Join me in a series of photos from about a two hour session and how it ended with the bees.

This is, I believe, the female shown high above the nest on a warm day, keeping watch on the nest below.

I think she sees me. Actually, I am on the sidewalk of a well-traveled street with regular pedestrian traffic and I am sure she sees me and lots more.

When I arrived, the chicks were active in the nest below.

The chick in the foreground is the older of the two. Note that it has more dark feathers emerging to replace the down.  The younger chick is attempting to do something with the tough-skinned chipmunk left earlier by a parent. They are not very graceful at this stage.  Awkward, really.

Eventually, the adult overhead flew to a roost on the opposite side of the gorge, still watchful.

After some time had passed,  the male returned with a fresh chipmunk.

For a few moments, both adults were on the nest.  I think the male left quickly to resume hunting and the female remained to feed the chicks.  Chipmunks are pretty tough skinned, and the one chick's attempt to take one apart was futile. The female put all of her strengths into the task.

She was pretty equitable in dividing the food among the two chicks.

What I expected next was the onset of a food coma for the chicks.  I could see them become calmer.

As the nest came out of the shadows and they became drowsy, I expected the adult to shield them with outstretched wings, as I had seen three days before. It had been two hours on the bridge. It was time to move to something new.  The time passed quickly.  I'd met numerous walkers.  Most had never seen such a thing close up, but some stopped every day on their way to and from work. 

So, I went to Sapsucker Woods for a break and to walk a woodland trail looking for small birds. Found a few such as Phoebes and Orioles, but was most taken by the wild azaleas blooming with hot pink flowers.  

So, you see that my day was really all about the birds and the bees.

I am sure that there are others who will enjoy reading about this. Please share it with someone.

Thanks,

Paul Schmitt