Friday, February 3, 2012

Yesterday’s Yard Birds

1. RTHA-kab How many people get to have a Red-tailed hawk as a yard bird?

This one was hanging around my yard most of yesterday morning. As long as it was in this tree, I never saw a single gray squirrel in the yard. I’d like to hire him to hang around the yard full time, because the rest of the birds seemed quite at ease and chirruped and fed merrily away. For some reason, the Red Squirrels did not seem to be afraid of it at all!

2. RTHA-kab Juvenile Red-tailed hawk in my backyard

 

3. yardbirds-kab House sparrows and Juncos feeding beneath the tree

 

5. Red squirrel-kab Red Squirrel

 

6. female cardinal-kab Female Cardinal

7. NOCA-kab Cardinal near woodpile

 

8. junco-kab Dark-eyed Junco at the edge of the woodland.

 

9. RTHA-kab The Watcher!

 

10. red sq-kab Red Squirrel still eating, but there are no gray squirrels around!

 

10. yard-kab If you were walking by, would you see the hawk?

 

11. closer-kab There it is!

16 comments:

  1. Hi Kathie, you have some wonderful yard birds. I wouldn't mind the Hawk as long as he/she didn't stick around for a long time. They are awesome looking birds. Great post and wonderful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photos of your yard birds. I almost needed my sunglasses when I scrolled down to the male cardinal!! That hawk is awesome. There was one in a tree out back here in TX the other day for over 5 hours! It must be a good tree for hawks, because a couple of days later, there was a Red-shouldered Hawk in the same spot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome show for you today.

    Everything flees when a hawk stops in around my feeders. Well except for the javelina.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great photos Kathie. In response to your initial question: "How many people get to have a Red-tailed hawk as a yard bird?"

    ok ok I'll admit it. You have the best yard ever. : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice shots! Love the cardinal...I just saw my first one (lifer) a few days ago!! Yesss!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Katie...I think he is being selective about his meals ...
    It seems I see then after Blue Jays and Doves fro some reason!!
    Those little Red Squirrels sure can move fast he would have to be real quick to catch those little bugger : }
    Nice ones of your backyard birdies!
    Grace

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great captures of the hawk Kathie! I saw a Red-tailed hawk down the road from my house last week. I was very excited! I often get Red-shouldered Hawks, and once a few months ago, a Cooper's Hawk. Good thing the squirrels are so plentiful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a boon! You have me thinking I better look twice when I'm outside!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've certainly seen a lot of Red-tailed Hawks lately, though not in our yard. Your juvenile certainly is handsome. What beautiful yard visitors you have! Great images, as always!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Handsome looking hawk and nice yard bird to have-I agree!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's so cool! He looks quite regal. And such a fluffy little head! Maybe he ate all the gray ones? Ooh.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eileen, thank you once again!

    KaHolly, isn't it funny how a hawk will pick a tree or a perch of some sort and sit there for hours on end! How nice you got to see them!

    Gaelyn, if a Cooper's, sharpie or Merlin comes around it has the same affect here but the Red-tailed hawks don't seem to scare the smaller birds off, though I have to admit that Grammie G may be right because I never see jays or doves when one is around! I have yet to see a red-tailed chase a bird however.

    Laurence and Maria, LOL! Come and visit!

    Jann, congratulations! Welcome to my blog! Thanks for stopping by!

    Grammie G, I think you are right about the red-squirrels and the jays and doves. I have never seen a red-tailed chasing any birds in my yard but I have noticed the bigger birds don't hang around when it is here.

    Sandy, hello! Smile! Yep!

    Julie, thanks!

    Larry, thanks! What fun, huh?

    Bella, as far as I am concerned, he can since they terrorize my feeders! Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  13. BEAUTIFUL shots!! LOVE the hawk...squirrels & cardinal!!

    we don't have the Red-tailed here...but we do have plenty of Red-shouldered yard hawks!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great shots of your yard hawk and its cohorts.

    ReplyDelete
  15. nice series on your yard critters. Love the hawk, very pretty :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Laura, what? No red-tails down there? I thought they were nation-wide! I saw my first red-shouldered hawk in Ft. Myers, FL.

    Thanks Marvin!

    Dan, thanks for the visit and the compliment. You should know about the hawks since you have been photographing and posting about them quite a bit yourself recently!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.