Dear Friends, the last image posted showed a little bird with an extremely close view, but todays find is a rough legged hawk hanging in the air far above our vehicle. I like how the light lit up his tail and head. The dark patches at his wrist are the id marking. til Tomorrow MJ
Dear Friends, this Red tailed Hawk is only three hours south of us in Red Wing Minnesota, winter is still here, minus 22 this morning but may get above zero today, bright sunshine so good light for photography, i will go scouting this afternoon for some good subjects for the golden hour, also good to go for a sunny drive thru Crex, may see my friend Agogo over there, til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this Cooper’s Hawk is still protesting his capture and banding, or maybe the loss of a feather, floating in the lower middle of this image. Hawk Ridge is an exciting place to be in the fall, lots of birds migrating and some are caught, banded, adopted and released back into the wild blue yonder. But I have a question, is this a pleasing blur?? til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this sharp-shinned hawk is looking for prey as he cruises above. Actually this image is the result of a little Photoshop magic. His bright yellow eyes tell us that he was a baby this spring and is a hatch year bird. When he is grown, his eye color will shift to orange and then to red. His beautiful chocolate coloring will shift to gray, oooo I could use some chocolate for breakfast, til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this amazing little bird is our smallest falcon, the Kestrel. This female was captured and banded at Hawk Ridge, then released back into the wild on a windy cloudy day. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this mature Cooper Hawk was captured and banded last fall at Hawk Ridge in Duluth Minnesota. He looks angry but his hackles are raised cause he is a little annoyed with being restrained while the educators talk about his natural history. Someone will have a chance to adopt him and release him back into the wild. I think this is my favorite photo from last fall at Hawk Ridge. Do you like? til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, soon this will be a common sight in Crex, the Sandhill Cranes flying in to join the larger flocks. They will dance and celebrate the end of summer, the arrival of the fall foliage and the migration of other birds, ducks, hawks, swans and passerines. They will all fly away to the south and leave me here,calling in the darkness of winter, longing for their return. But for now, time to get busy. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this is a second summer sharp shinned Hawk who has been captured, banded and after this image was taken, was release back into the wild blue yonder. He has changed from his first year coloring when the eye is bright yellow, the breast feathers show a vertical orientation, and the top of his head was brown rather than the gray in this bird. He is a survivor and is migrating south over Hawk Ridge in Duluth Minnesota. The migration is starting and I will soon be able to show you new images of migrating birds. til Tomorrow MJ
Friends, this rough-legged hawk has escaped from our summery weather back to his frosty north land. This is a dark phase hawk who hung around later than usual this spring. The dark patch in the wrist area is the id mark that i look for to identify this bird. We are also escaping, running away to the badlands where it is typically hot and dry, a desert area with clay ridges and cliffs. til Tomorrow MJ
Mar 31
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Friends, a day in my life is sometimes a bit fictional, but i try to be in Crex at Sunrise when the Cranes are flying from their roost to the fields, I also like to do my WordPress blog, photograph some birdies, post-process some images with photoshop and last but certainly not the least, […]
MJ Springett 