This time of year we get more hawks flying over the pasture, and our house, and the barn lot! Active birds. The first two photos are of a Cooper's Hawk, in flight, and at rest. The last photo is a Red Tailed Hawk. For some reason I'm very fond of hawks. Perhaps because they do what they do so well!
If you’re hawking wildlife piccies, count me in. I like hawks too, as well as falcons. These foto’s of yours are dramatic to see. Are these magnificent beauties migratory then? We do not have this bird here, but we do have one called the rode wouw (red-tailed kite, as our trans-channel neighbours call them). There are some remarkable vids of them being fed at some locations in Britain. In fact I saw them gain on Autumnwatch a couple of days ago. There are more to see on youtube if you are interested. Anyhow, great postings, compliments from the Bride as well.
Hawks are migratory, and spend much of the winter here in Texas. They also "kettle", which is a rotating fly over of several hawks. They take advantage of thermals, and don't have to expend much energy to stay aloft. I've never seen a red kite, neither in the wild nor in a video. Interesting! Thank you for the link.
Lovely hawks @marlingardener ! We have goshawks and sparrowhawks here, even in our garden. I have photo evidence. They are lovely, but I'm not too fond of them when they catch our magpies and our small garden birds. It feels like entrapment when I feed the birds. I know those hawks have to eat, so maybe we're helping both the garden bird population and the bird-of-prey population. @Zigs ! Not nice.
I like to see the Buzzards overhead. They have been in decline here, and only recently have made a comeback in the south of England - I believe there are more up in Scotland, and in the west of the country too. These birds are protected here. We have one who likes to come and roost on the roof - we call him Scruff - he always looks as if he's been in a punch up.
Tetters, we have vultures here--ugly carrion eaters. Without them we would be knee-deep in road kill. They like to catch the thermals over the pasture and soar and make figure eights in the sky. They are so much more attractive aloft than they are on the ground.
Hey Jane, the term, “buzzard” means something different in the uk ( and here) as it does in the usa. Its like hawks and vultures, mate. It used to confuse me. We spell buzzard differently— buizerd. These things keep us on our toes.
Sjoerd, thank you for that awesome video. I would call it "Red-Tailed Kite ballet" . Simply an amazingly natural display. The peacefulness of the sheep feeding nearby balanced the lofty dance of fowl. The black birds resting on the fenceposts, are they Crows? Ravens? Blackbirds?
GP— I cannot see them well enough to tell for sure, but I think they are ravens. Rooks are also a possibility.
Sjoerd liked the video, we have buzzards here and they're slowly growing. Do see the odd Kite around, we're on the edge of the town close to the countryside.
What an interesting video. I enjoyed seeing that. I like these birds. Common as they are, they remain remarkable to me.
