Top Raptors of 2019

Year 6

It is common to look back over a just completed year and reflect upon accomplishments. Readers of this blog should know by now I love raptors. Their majesty screams out upon finding them in the wild. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane. Hopefully I will be able to continue to spend quality time in the wilderness during 2020 and share these experiences with all of you. My first treatment for my vision disorder is early Monday morning, the 6th. Within seven days of the treatment I should start to understand what the future holds.

American Kestrel: I love this image because photographing Kestrels is so difficult. This species of bird is very shy, but I was able to hike into deep cover and watch this youngster screaming to be fed.

Northern Saw-whet Owl: I like a rare and easy find. This owl migrated through my neighborhood this fall, and a friend let me know of its whereabouts.

Cooper’s Hawk: When birds are in love and defending their territory, we humans often don’t exist. During a hike while on vacation in the Tucson area I found some Cooper’s Hawks having a strong disagreement. For over 15 minutes a screaming battle played out in the trees above me.

Great Horned Owl Family: Two of the five owls from this family that made the woods near my house their home this spring. I watched this family for almost two months. It appears the parents are back for another year!

Great Gray Owl … This juvenile which was practicing its hunting skills this past Fall almost appears to be praying. If you believe in God, please add me to your prayers this weekend. Thank you.

Snowy Owl Under a Crescent Moon: This image is special to me for several reasons. One aspect of my vision disorder, is my vision gets better in low light. After sunset on New Year’s Eve I found this owl on my own (huge thanks to my wife who drove me over to my owling grounds), and then I pulled off a once in a lifetime photograph.

Pileated Woodpeckers … Male vs Female

Year 6

As I noted the weather had been horrible around here, but my local Pileated Woodpeckers know a trip to my yard yields food. Two days ago I captured this female Pileated Woodpecker during a heavy snow. I thought folks might like seeing the female and male images juxtaposed. Males have a “scarlet moustache” Females do not. In addition, for males the scarlet crest reaches all the way to the upper beak. (another blog post of mine which shows both sexes right next to each other in the same tree)

Female Pileated Woodpecker

Male Pileated Woodpecker

Crescent Moon Snowy Owl

Year 6

For the first time in four days the sun came out yesterday, and after all of our nasty weather, I hoped our local Snowy Owls might come out before sunset. Basically I thought these birds would be hungry, and that state of being will occasionally make nocturnal owls hunt before sundown. Molly was nice enough to drive me over to Superior, and we arrived at 3 pm … 90 minutes before sunset. I was wrong! The Snowies were sleeping, and showed no signs of waking up till just a bit before the golden orb dropped below the horizon.

With all that said, it was a magical late afternoon / early evening. As we were driving home post sunset I spied a beautiful almost sheer white male Snowy Owl. Females have more dark barrings in their plumage as camouflage for when they nest on the ground up in the Arctic tundra. As I was walking back to the car after photographing this bird, I turned to look at the male Snowy one more time. Uff dah! My new position revealed I might be able to photography the owl in front of the crescent moon. Yup!

Crescent Moon Snowy Owl

My earlier vantage point for this Snowy had been utilized to maximize what little light was left in the sky … the sun was down but still behind me. I pushed up the ISO to get some nice photographs.

Snowy Owl (male) at sunset

Same Owl … grooming at sunset

The other Snowy Owl I saw was this nice female. While taking photographs of the bird in the setting sun, I made the mistake of glancing down. I wanted to change camera settings as I suspected the Snowy would finally fly to its first hunting perch of the evening. Right idea, wrong execution. By the time I glanced back up 10 seconds later, the owl was gone. Given the wings of owls make zero sound, it’s silent flight did not alert me. I had been watching this owl off and on for over 30 minutes. I have no idea where it flew. Oh well … seeing two Snowy Owls in one evening is special.

Snowy Owl (female) just before sunset