Early this month I went to my second falconry field meet and met some pretty awesome birds (and people!). For this meet, I was able to photograph more birds around the headquarters. This will be a photo-heavy post with little words. The beauty of these birds will do the speaking…
I saw a couple of great Falcons:
3/4 Gyr + 1/4 Saker Falcon
Barbary Falcon
Peales Falcon, a subspecies of the Peregrine
And my first Goshawk! Too bad I couldn’t count her as a life bird.
Northern Goshawk
Someone had a Golden Eagle that I could get close to near the weathering yard – this bird is massive!
Golden Eagle
I watched multiple Red-tailed Hawks hunt…
Nikita, my friend’s Red-tailed Hawk on the lookout
Meallan, my friend’s Red-tailed Hawk
Including my friend’s adult Red-tail that I also saw in the beginning of the year. She successfully caught one squirrel and we tried to get another.
Isis, protecting her kill
Isis, my friend’s Red-tailed Hawk on her lure
Once again, I watched my friend’s Harris Hawk, Rogue, hunt. This time, she hunted with other Hawks that belonged to new friends.
Group hunting with Harris’s Hawks
My friend’s Harris’s Hawk
I also had the pleasure of seeing my favorite little raptor, the American Kestrel.
Hank, my friend’s American Kestrel in flight
Hank, my friend’s American Kestrel on his lure
Clover, my friend’s imprinted American Kestrel
Clover and Sid my friends’ American Kestrels, hunting together
To end this post, I’ll share some mug shots of three different Red-tailed Hawks that were in the weathering yard. It’s amazing how different they can look!
Red-tailed Hawk with transitioning eye color
A darker Red-tailed Hawk
This Red-tailed Hawk looks like it has puffy cheeks