This is a Rufus Redtailed Hawk. I had a great advantage in taking this photo: the bird was not in the wild but an exhibit at the yearly birding festival in Willcox, called Wings Over Willcox. The draw to the event is the thousands of overwintering Sandhill Cranes, as well as raptors and sparrows. Aside from the many participants for seminars and tours there are exhibits by the Audubon Society and the various environmental organizations, a number of vendors of books, feeders, art, and knick-knacky stuff, and the big draw for me: Liberty Wildlife.
Liberty Wildlife is a rehabilitation and educational institution, and they bring their avian educators for upclose and personal encounters. I find the raptors fascinating. This year they brought several owls, from Great-Horned to Burrowing, some smaller prey birds like the Kestrel, and several hawks. This is a Ferruginous Hawk. All these species spend time in our valley, some overwintering, some year-round.
I was captivated by Chocolate, the Rufus Redtailed Hawk, and her handler invited me to come back today, early in the morning, to see her fly as part of her exercise program. It was a thrill to be so close to a bird coming in for her "prey".
Back at the Ranch, Dan had to free a little Bewick's Wren who panicked when our still-resident Cooper's Hawk flew through. The wren got trapped between the walls of the tackroom. Thankfully he flew off unharmed. I learned today that "our" hawk will develop respect for humans over the next couple of months and be not so at ease in our presence. We'd better enjoy his company while we can.
1 comment:
Jon and I were watching the "Planet Earth" series a few weeks back, and they had a great little moment with the Sandhill Cranes... absolutely astonishing how far they migrate! If you haven't seen Planet Earth, you absolutely must! You would love it.
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