Friends, this beautiful copper-colored redtail (right below) is a rufous-phase Redtail Hawk and it is estimated that the rufous phase makes up about 5% of the total population of Redtail Hawks. So this is a rather special hawk and his light eyes mean he is a juvenile hawk as the eyes get darker as redtails mature. You can see the difference in the chest color by comparing the rufous (right) to the more traditional redtail (left) in the images below.
Friends, These two Cooper Hawks are examples of a difference in attitude and age. The bird in the top image is younger and calmer than the older and more aggressive bird shown in the bottom image. The difference in the amount of gray feathers shows the relative age with the bird in the bottom image being the older. The raised hackles on the back of the head show more attitude in the older bird. I adopted the bird in the top image and released it back into the wild. The bird in the bottom image bit the educator and was not adopted. In all fairness, there were more birds than people on Hawk ridge yesterday. The sunshine and cooler weather is bringing in the larger hawks now. Lots of Redtail Hawks and an special redtail tomorrow. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this is a teenage goshawk who just got his drivers license a few months ago, he hasn’t quite mastered the cornering thing yet. This is a multiple exposure taken on a gray sky day with very little color. While we were on Hawk Ridge, it snowed, foreshadowing things to come. This is a hatch year goshawk talking back, but officer, I was only going 30mph. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, while sitting on Hawk Ridge watching the leaves turn into fall colors, and waiting for the occasional hawk, this big bird gave us a fly-over. We told him there aren’t any fish on the ridge but he was curious and gave us the once over. This is an adult osprey with a bright yellow eye who was flying northward when all the traffic is southerly. Guess he didn’t get the memo. When ospreys glide their wings are bent slightly at the wrist, as shown in the image below. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this tundra peregrine was migrating through Duluth Minnesota, floating on the thermals above Hawk Ridge when she saw what appeared like a wounded bird. She swooped down and got caught in a net. People rushed out to free her from the net and put a band on her leg, measured her and sent her to an educator/naturalist who stood in front of other people and told them about the peregrine falcon natural history. Someone from the crowd then adopted this bird and was allowed to set her free to continue on her migratory journey. This is what happens on Hawk Ridge in the fall. til Tomorrow MJ
Oct 7
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Friends, these are things that make me happy, click on any image to see the captions and full-sized images in a slide show. The right and left arrows direct you through the show and the small x in the upper left hand corner returns you to this post. Enjoy , til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this beautiful bird is another tundra peregrine falcon, i love the blue accessories. He has flown in from the tundra of the northern regions and will migrate to the tip of south america. A very long journey even for those of us with modern gps. He is going on his instincts and inborn knowledge, for this is his first trip. There are no parents to guide him, just his internal compass. On their first journey, they avoid flying over Lake Superior because the coldness of the lake doesn’t produce the thermals that are critical for gliding. Over Hawk Ridge the thermals lift the birds and below is the view that they enjoy while migrating south along the ridge. we will release this peregrine in tomorrow’s post til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this Northern Harrier has been released back into the wild with a new bracelet on her leg, yesterday we showed her portrait and what she will look like in two to three years with adult eyes and plummage. Below is an image of her wing detail, facinating to me. 
Friends, this beautiful immature Cooper’s Hawk was released after being banded, i was able to keep the head in focus but the rest of the wings and the end of the tail were beyond the depth of field. This bird flew directly over my head at very close range so i was lucky to get any images at all. This image shows the sharply banded tail that is characteristic of the Accipiters. The image below shows the long legs and his new leg band. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this image is an immature Cooper’s Hawk compared to an adult shown below. They are larger than their cousin the sharp shinned, but smaller than their other cousin, the Goshawk. Like their cousins the hatch year birds have yellow eyes, vertical chest feather pattern and chocolate brown back feathers. When they grow to adult birds, the eyes turn to red, the chest pattern changes to a more horizontal pattern and the back and head get a dark gray. Collectively these hawks are in the Accipiter group and in the air they have long tails and short wings so they can quickly maneuver thru the woodlands to catch their prey. The Cooper has a loose ruff of feathers on the back of the head that is sometimes raised, you can see this ruff on the adult bird below and a hint of it in the immature bird. Enjoy your coopers hawk until tomorrow when we release him back to the wild. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 