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After enjoying a beautiful sunset but not finding the owls last Saturday, we came back on Sunday to finish the job! We were treated to finding two of the five reported winter visitors there.
I've tossed up a two shots here for today and there's a few more on my blog: ulrichphoto.blogspot.com
One thing I have noticed often in taking shots of Bald eagles is the catchlight often reflected back in good light. The large eye allows for a large retinal area where the visual image appears. Second, the eagle's eyes contain a high number of features which allow for visual accuracy and colour perception.
These features are called cones. Human eyes also contain cones, but proportionately not as many. Because of the high number of cones, as opposed to rods, perhaps this may enhance light to reflect more in good light as the eagle's vision is not particularly good at night.
Raptors such as hawks and eagles are visual predators, using their eyesight to navigate their environment and locate and capture prey. ...
The Sparrowhawk is a relatively small bird of prey adapted for hunting smaller birds in confined spaces like dense woodland, so gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them. Adult male sparrowhawks have bluish-grey back and wings and orangey-brown bars on their chest and belly. Females and young birds have brown back and wings, and brown bars underneath. Sparrowhawks have bright yellow or orangey eyes, long, yellow legs and long talons. As with most birds of prey the females are larger than males.
Their territories are well spaced – pairs do not tolerate another nest close by. The distance between each nest varies ranges from 0.5 km to 2.1 km. This is determined by the local food supply – the better the food supply, the smaller each territory will be. The nest is usually built in lower parts of the canopy, close to the trunk of a tree and usually concealed from view. It is a sturdy platform of twigs, lined with bark flakes. A central ‘cup’ prevents the eggs from rolling out. Nest building can take several weeks and is often completed long before the eggs are laid.
Sparrowhawk facts; Because of the size difference, male sparrowhawks court the females with caution, as the female can (and sometimes does) kill her suitor.
Sparrowhawk chicks hatch when there are plenty of fledgling small birds around, in the same way that blue tits synchronise their breeding to coincide with the peak availability of caterpillars. Three to six eggs are laid at two-day intervals during May. Incubation lasts for 32-35 days and the eggs hatch in succession over two or more days, so that the chicks are different sizes. The female helps the chicks to break out of their shell. They are covered in pure white short down, and their eyes are already partly open when they hatch. Succesive hatching is an adaptation to cope with an unpredictable food supply. If food is short, the youngest chick will die and reduce the brood to a manageable size.
A Sparrowhawks diet mainly consists of small birds and the occasional rodent. 120 different species of prey have been recorded. Males can catch birds up to thrush size, but females, being bigger, can catch birds up to pigeon size. Some sparrowhawks have adapted their hunting habits to catch bats.
Sparrowhawk facts; Their usual flying speed is around 30-40 kph, but a sparrowhawk is capable of up to 50 kph in short bursts.
There have been concerns in the past that sparrowhawks eat too many small birds and cause their population to fall or even become extinct, however long-term scientific studies have shown that sparrowhawks generally have no or little impact on songbird populations. It is worth remembering that sparrowhawks and songbirds have existed side by side for thousands of years without any detrimental effect on songbird numbers.
Read more at www.wildonline.blog
A birthday treat from my wife - a day out with Wildlife photographer Alan Hewitt alanhewittphotography.co.uk/ and birds from Andy Howey's Bird of Prey Centre; Haggerston Castle, Northumberland. Photo-Set www.harrisonaphotos.co.uk/Landscapes/Birds-of-Prey-2018/
You can read more about this pair of American Bald Eagles at Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/2017/11/20/w34-a-ny-bande...
SPOTLIGHT ON THE BALD EAGLE’S ALL-AMERICAN COMEBACK IN NEW JERSEY
by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager
June 20th 2016
In 1985 — just 31 years ago — a single bald eagle nest remained in the state of New Jersey. In 2015, CWF and partners monitored 161 nests throughout the Garden State. Just this year (as of June 20, 2016), over 50 young eagles have already fledged from their nests! What sparked this All-American comeback of the United States’ National Bird?
DDT use was banned in the United States in 1972. That ban combined with restoration efforts by biologists within the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) resulted in 25 bald eagle pairs by 2000.
In 2017 the number of New Jersey active bald eagle pairs was 170.
For more info: www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/tag/new-jersey-bald-eagle...
New Jersey Bald Eagle Project Report | 2016
New Jersey Bald Eagle Project Report | 2016 may be downloaded here: docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYX...
For more info: www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/tag/new-jersey-bald-eagle...
"One of a pair of Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk siblings."
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "Chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common Buteos in North America. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 1.5 to 3.5 pounds, and measuring 18–26 inches in length, with a wingspan from 43–57 inches. The Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males. The bird is sometimes referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk
This local Red-tailed Hawk is scanning the ground squirrel colony in the field below for unwary prey from atop its perch on a 30ft pole. .
MLK Shoreline RP, Oakland, CA
Son sueños,son sueños que se cumplieron.Yo soñaba a menudo con ver un azor bañandose,chapoteando a mi lado,en soledad,solos el y yo en mitad del campo.Y asi fue,un dia que ni me imaginaba que entraria esta criatura viviente.
El dÃa estaba nublado con viento en calma,no hacÃa mucho calor,poco pajareo. Desde el hide escucho unos aleteos a las 9, y se posa un ave en el borde de la charca.Exclame ostia no me jod....un azor!!!,encuadro al ave con un tembleque que parecia que tenÃa parkinson,son emociones fuertes,el ritmo cardÃaco se dispara,cuesta controlarlo. Tardó en pensárselo,no se fiaba,el siempre alerta ante presuntos enemigos. El estaba en una postura relajada,me sorpredió lo tranquilo que estaba a pesar de los disparos de la cámara. Después de observar el agua se decidió y se tiró al agua...genial!! .Menudo regalo me dio la madre natura,se bañó delante de mi a escasos 3 metros,casi que lo tocaba,no podia ni respirar,de vez en cuando me clavaba esos ojos amarillos que parecian candiles,parecÃan puñales que se te clavaban en el alma.