Birds of Prey Friday

After the long week I had, I was looking forward to getting out a little this evening to do a little birding. Nothing too intense as I only had an hour or so, but my mind was made up on getting some shots of a Red-Tailed Hawk. Luckily we were fortunate to find one near Cross Street in Millbury who was perched on a power line and surveying the scene, looking for dinner I'm sure.

Alan got out his spotting scope to allow for digiscope photos like the ones above.

The Red-tailed Hawk sat there patiently scanning the grounds below as Common Grackles harassed him. This didn't seem to bother the hawk any as I am sure it is used to it, but it was very interesting to observe.

Look at the seriousness in that face and the intensity in its eyes.

Many of the birds I saw today seemed to take and intense liking to preening. The rain had stopped and it was time to dry off some I guess!

Of course what would Friday be without some Peregrine Falcon photos. The male falcon wanted to do some preening himself and I was lucky enough that he decided to do it during my lunch hour. Now I am very attached to both of the falcons, but the male is my favorite hands down. The female is the more dominant of the two and it's obvious who wears the pants in that relationship. ;o). The male on the other hand is more of the "yes dear" type who just does what is asked of him and spends the rest of him time goofing off and doing some seriously funny things like the face above. I swear if I didn't know any better I would think he was smiling at me!

Aside from his goofy antics it wasn't just fun for this guy as his responsibility was to scan the sky for potential threats against his young. Despite his laid back attitude, he takes this job very seriously. ;o)

When he is not scratching himself and looking at his feet that is!

It's a tough job, but someones gotta do it!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, if you look to the side nest box you will see one of the baby Peregrine Falcons peeking out and looking at its new world.

Mamma was the hunter today and I watched her pluck a pigeon from the air and take it to the ledge for plucking! Closeup photos were not possible as I only have a 15 zoom but I did the best I could! You can see the feathers in the air though.

Busy at work preparing the meal for her family. A woman's work is never done! ;o)

The kids are calling at this point as their mouths water of the thought of freshly killed pigeon.

Off she goes to deliver the goods.

To her hungry children begging for food.

While Pappa preens and fluffs.