Female Havik Hawk Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis

a shot at distance but a lovely light buzzard

A red kite swoops into relieve some juvenile buzzards of their food. Taken at David White's Raptor Hide in Wiltshire, UK.

nice and close but head down hunting as usual

A large resident owl endemic to the subcontinent and found around thick woody areas in the countryside and forests close to lakes. This is a true nocturnal owl active at nights and often hard to sight in the day. It sits quietly in the canopy making it hard to see it and we often rely on the ruckus created by birds like Bulbuls, Drongoes and Bee Eaters and determine an owl is around. We sighted this bird on this day after we saw several Drongoes dive bombing and Red Vented bulbuls creating a scene. It was a terribly foggy day and maybe that is why the bird was still awake.

The Owl flew from one tree to another large tree and the Drongoes - 2-3 of them repeatedly tried to peck the head of the Owl and landed on it. The Owl is not an agile flyer, and found itself challenged by the Drongo. It then landed on nearby trees and bore the Drongoes harassment. A few minutes later, the Owl flew back and disappeared into the canopy, while the Drongoes went about their business!

Thank you so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback. Much appreciated.

Thanks to all who have visited, commented or faved my photos. (It would be nice if you left a comment too) It is very much appreciated. Constructive criticism welcomed

Burrowing Owl

This osprey was trying to hunt for fish. Unfortunately for the bird and for us he didn't manage to catch one.

barn owl coming out of the sun

A migratory raptor from Central Asia, Eastern Europe that winters in India. They are quite similar to the Pallid Harriers and both these birds are often seen together and even hunt in the same habitat - grasslands. The prey base is also quite similar.

The Harriers communally roost together in one place and hence they converge from their hunting grounds late in the evenings - usually an hour before sunset. During winters in the grasslands, during the day, we often see 1-2 of these harriers flying and hunting around. But as evening comes, around 4.00 PM onwards, the numbers grew - to about 20-25 of them. Two years back at the same place, there were around 40 of them. Pallid, Montagu's, Marsh, and Pied - all together. Its an amazing experience to see so many of them so close and interacting with each other.

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.

Oehoe

Sunnyvale Baylands Park, Sunnyvale CA.

female kestrel posing nicely for us

Pendant que je savourais chaque instant passé auprès du beau Harfang des neiges une partie d'un autre oiseau de proie se glissa dans mon viseur. Celui-ci passa très vite et, au début, je cru percevoir une buse. En levant les yeux vers le ciel je restai stupéfaite en voyant un Hibou des marais chassant activement dans le champs. Une rencontre inattendue et quelle belle surprise. C'était la première fois que j'observais ce merveilleux hibou en pleine chasse.

While I was enjoying every moment spent with the beautiful Snowy Owl, part of another bird of prey slipped into my viewfinder. It passed very quickly and, at first, I thought I saw a Hawk. Looking up into the sky I was amazed to see a Short-eared Owl actively hunting in the field. An unexpected encounter and what a lovely surprise. It was the first time I observed this wonderful owl hunting.

Hibou des marais

Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeus

Merci pour votre passage, vos favoris et commentaires. Je lis chaque commentaire attentivement et ils me font grandement plaisir!

Thank you for your visit, favorite and comment. I read closely each comment . They are sincerely appreciated!

A young (Three year old) Male Osprey, 055 that was born in the Rutland area is seen here powering out of the water with a trout in each talon. Looking forward to these magnificent birds returning to the UK again in the next couple of months

lucky today at lackford the osprey had not been seen all day but I wandered down to a empty hide not very confident and a pair turned up within 10 mins not the nice blue skies of the weekend but a first for me so a happy man

had several nice evenings with no show this barnie seem to like over cast skies

A common winter harrier found along the water bodies in the countryside. These medium sized birds are migratory from Central Asia and winter in large numbers in India. They hunt small reptiles like Snakes, frogs, monitor lizards and water birds. The hunting pattern is constantly harassing the birds till some of them just give up tired and don't fly away. Then the bird just pounces and makes a meal of them.

Here it was flying over the edge of small lake that is hosting 100's of the smaller teals. The water was shallow and just a few feet deep - so the Teals were active and in good numbers. And where there is prey, there are predators. There were about 2 Marsh Harriers and several other falcons too. Some of them roosted in the marshes, while others roosted on the lake banks.

Thanks in advance for your views, favorites and feedback. Much appreciated.

180216IMG_049122-This is the tiny predator that caused such big commotion among the little birds in my backyard the other day...

Union Lake Dam- Barbara

I heard the familiar sheiking from the skies and had these buzzards overhead shame the sky was not nice and blue as these were quite low

Taking a Bow

Going through some old images and came across this previously unedited photo of a male Kestrel taken a few years ago...

Topvogel 31-05-2020

went looking for hares but found these nice red kites

Osprey with fish. These were a long way off, not the best photo but great to watch them.

A large falcon that is endemic to South Asia including parts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is as large as a Peregine Falcon and taller than Saker Falcon, but more leaner unlike the bulky build of Saker Falcon or Peregrine Falcon. We sighted them on two days in action - they were hunting in the area and one of them was fighting with the Saker Falcon. They seem to be quite common in the desert regions and as a fan of falcons was delighted to be sighting them and seeing them in action.

This was sighted in Pokhran, again a desert region. The bird was hunting in the area possibly targeting the many small birds like Pipits, Larks, Crested Larks, Wheatears etc.. There was no dearth of prey. Unfortunately, we didn't see it with any catch though and we were in a rush to see the Indian Bustards, so had to move along.

Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback - very much appreciated.

Sunnyvale, CA

Eagles getting frisky

nice to get some shots tonight as the weekend is not looking very good

A Barn Owl that flew across my path (thankfully) and proceeded to hunt around me allowing some opportunity for pictures