Red-Tailed Hawk Taking Flight
A red-tailed hawk takes flight in search of prey.
Merlin in Morning Light
Winter in California provides you with a great opportunity to observe merlins as many of them winter in northern California. Merlins are in the falcon family (falco columbarius) and they are fairly easy to locate because they hunt by positioning themselves on posts to survey the territiory for potential prey. They are fierce and intensely powerful little raptors that use their speed to capture smaller birds in mid-air!
Intensity
We sat in our vehicle to descreetly photograph this merlin, but it is very evident that this falcon knew we were there!
White-tailed kite on guard duty
A male white-tailed kite takes off to chase a crow away from the newly selected nesting site.
Cooper's Hawk in search of prey
A young Cooper's Hawk just missed catching an Acorn Woodpecker at its granary on the flanks of Mt. Diablo in Walnut Creek, California (it looks a bit unhappy about it too).
Immature Cooper's Hawk
A magnificent Ferruginous Hawk flys over a wide expanse of land in Grand Tetons National Park while hunting.
This Peregrine was observing another flyer (a Coast Guard plane) as it passed overhead in Point Reyes National Seashore, California.
We have been fortunate enough to see Peregrine Falcons on several occasions while hiking with our photo equipment along the California coast south of Monterey. We watched this one for over two hours until it decided to take flight from its perch to search for prey; the reward for our patience was this photo.
Gray Ghost
A male harrier cruises low over the land in search of prey.
Female Northern Harrier Carrying a Freshly Caught Alligator Lizard
LOOK VERY CAREFULLY! This female northern harrier has a freshly caught alligator lizard safely tucked within her talons. The tail of her victim is visible just above her left leg.
