For Mike Allen, a fellow hawk fancier, this photo. We had a Cooper's hawk visit today. He/she posed so well my husband couldn't resist taking a picture.
We saw a Buzzard today but couldn't get a 'photo as it took off as soon as it saw the camera being raised. Your hubby needs to give us some pointers on capturing them on film.
Eileen, the trick is to just keep taking photos. We joke that aiming a camera at a bird is a sure guarantee it will fly away! Logan, are you a hawk fancier, too?
Thank you so much for the 'dedication'. My daughter Amanda has several bird feeders in her tiny garden, that attract many of the titmus family, robins, blackbirds and sparrows plus green parrotkeets, and greedy starlings. Any other birds such a wood pidgeons and magpies, the latter that raid the nests of smaller birds in the nesting season. Recently a sparrowhawk arrived and soon it's mate. These are not welcome as far as Amanda is conconcerned. I often watch kestrels hovering and sometimes spot the odd merlin. When we used to visit the New Forest, buzzards were a regular sight, showing off their arial acrobatics and that melodic call of theirs. We visit when possible any falconry sanctuary. In the City of London, several high buildings have provided high points for peregrins to nest. Great!
@marlingardener that's a regal and fierce looking hawk! I put up a barn owl house to attract owls, but have never seen it occupied. I hear them. Maybe I should move it... We do have hawks. I assume they lower the mouse and rat, mole, vole and rabbit populations. I wouldn't mind if they controlled the deer populations but I think we need pterodactyls for them.
I saw hawks only 2 times in my life. My husband and I were in a huge nature reserve, where you can even take pictures with such birds. The trip to the reserve left many wonderful impressions and high-quality photographs stored in the family album for a long time. By far, the best picture will be hanging on the wall in the living room. I have already ordered a brown frame. We will have a baby in a few months, so we must postpone travel. But we have already decided to visit the protected area where exotic birds live. They say there are several endangered species of birds there. There are only a few left on the planet.