I wanted to post the other pictures I took over the weekend. The first one is a picture of a Field Sparrow. Have you ever seen such a sweet face before? Such a cute bird and I think its my favorite sparrow as of now.
Rough digiscope of my pal the female Great Blue Heron in Grafton. Digiscoping her was difficult due to the position of the sun and the wind, but I liked the way this one came out.
Side view.
Rough digiscope of the Belted Kingfisher. It would not do me the honors of turning around. Grrrrr. I still liked the photo though. Look at those pretty feathers. They look so soft and colorful.
Another lifer for me which was the Greater Scaup. I wish the pictures would have come out better, but the light made it difficult. Such a pretty bird though and one I hope decides to stick around our area.
One last photo which is a hawk kill that may disturb some of you as it kind of disturbed me. I was at the cemetery yesterday when all of a sudden I could see a good sized bird over at the edge perching over something. I drove up as closely as I could and was able to grab a couple of photos before it took its prey and flew off. I think this hawk is a Cooper's as it was a lot bigger than a Blue Jay. The prey I believe is an owl. :o(. At first I thought it was a baby owl due to its size but then I got home and zoomed into it and now think it may be an adult owl of some kind that may have been sick and an easy target for the hawk. Now I know hawks have to eat and all, but why couldn't he have picked off one of the starlings across the street or something? The picture is below but I am giving you ample time to back click if you would like so you don't have to see the photo. If one of you thinks I am wrong and it is not an owl, please let me know because I would love to be wrong on this one.
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FINAL WARNING
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Peace.
20 comments:
Yes, the Field Sparrow is a delightful sparrow and I have to look, quickly, for the pink bills or beaks, when I am about to take their picture to make sure what I am looking at is a Field Sparrow. You do have a cutie.
The other bird is a Coopers Hawk and looks like a female which is larger than the male. It also looks like an owl. I am saddened to see that too but the owl must have beens sick or injured. An owl has some large talons too and some owls would not take lightly to be picked on by a Coopers Hawk. It could have also been a smaller Screech Owl. The picture doesn't really show.
Great pictures, Kim...I love the faces on those sweet little Field Sparrows.
Great digiscope photos of the Blue Heron. I like that side view. Gorgeous!!!!
The Kingfisher was showing you what he thought was his BEST side.. ha..
Hope you are having a good day.
Hugs,
Betsy
What do you think of a Flicker for the prey on that last picture? The spoted feathers look like a Flicker's breast feathers and the yellow on the wing- yellow-shafted Northern Flicker?
Field Sparrow is sweet. I do love sparrows.
That is the sweetest sparrow I've ever seen. Great pictures.
Abe, I was thinking the same thing. How can a hawk take an owl??
Betsy, the Field Sparrow shot came out so sweet. I have been trying for three weeks now to get a decent field sparrow shot and I lucked out with that one. Funny thing is was that I was very far away from it and it still came out nice.
Lynne, it very well could be a flicer. There were two of them at the cemetery the day before I took this photo. They were courting each other so I will look out next time to see if I can locate both of them.
Mildred, isn't it sweet!! All sparrows have adorable faces but this one tugs at my heart strings. LOL, all birds have a tendency to do that to me though. ;o)
Nice photos Kim but the last one did make me sad. If it is a Flicker it's even sadder because one has lost it's mate. But that is nature. I watched a hawk catch a squirrel last summer. He sat on a branch with it hanging for quite some time and had a hard time holding onto it. The Crows were really giving that Hawk a hard time..LOL Eventually the hawk flew away with the squirrel.
Great pictures. We have those hawks around here and they pick off the song birds I feed plus the doves. This morning there were two circling our place and one of the was screaming. It also done the screaming thing Saturday. I started clapping my hands and kept it away from the house although it lit in a tree in the edge of our yard Sat. so I started the clapping and scared it away. Like you said they should pick up the abundance of blackbirds. Helen
You really are getting good!!! If it was an owl, a mate was lost too. But the hawk has to eat too, but there are so many house sparrows and starlings around..sigh.. The screaming your other commenter heard could have been a courtship call...It is the time of year.. Michelle
I really like your digiscoped herons...and the Field Sparrow has become one of my favorites too. They have such sweet expressions.
I have to go along with the Flicker as the prey. Good pictures. Keep looking...you have lots more sparrows to find.
I love hawks but I too wish they'd only eat birds I don't like or have to many of. I'm even sadder if it's a flicker than I would be if it's an owl.
I really like flickers.
Nature is not only about beauty but the struggle between life and death.I give you credit for digiscoping.I've been frustrated by the results in my first attempst and have not stuck with it.Interesting photos and I like the new name of your blog. How long has it been changed? I didn't notice it before.
Thanks all. I will go with the Flicker. Bummer though as they were courting and I just spotted them for the first time there the day before.
Larry, digiscoping is done with a birding friend who has a magnificent scope. I don't think I would get that lucky without a scope like that but am going to buy one (not nearly as nice) despite how the photos come out becuase I need one anyhow. I may buy another lens at some point but I will use the scope I buy for photography if I can just for a record shot. It is very frustrating but sometimes you can get some decent photos through digiscoping even without the device you use to hold it in place. My name has been this for about a month now. I thought it was more fitting as I am birding more away from my kitchen window. ;o)
Kim,
Nice photos..I have been playing around with digiscoping too...lots of fun.
I am sorry about your flicker..I guess all the birdies have to eat..but it is sad when it is a bird that we have been watching.
I really like the close up shot you took of the GBH...very cool and artsy looking!
I remember worrying about a squirrel that a hawk was lurking around. I always think if the killing needs to be done, they can do it when I'm not there. Even so, it's an important part of nature, and still very interesting.
Your sparrow is a cutie! Tell that kingfisher to quit mooning you! LOL! Feel sad for the owl but agree w/ you it must've been sick.
Well, you have been busy. Good for you out exploring and trying different things. Too bad the Kingfisher didn't turn around. I like the colors in that shot.
WOW...that last action shot is truly incredible. You were at the right place at the right time.
Lovely photos again Kim especially the digiscope of the Heron.
Don't worry about the Hawk photo, it's a great capture, and as you say, they have to eat!
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