January 04, 2010

Ridgefield NWR- Part 2

Ridgefield in the winter is always a good place to see raptors and birds of prey. On Friday we saw: American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Northern Harrier.



Red-tailed Hawks are always the most abundant and we saw many of them perched in the surrounding trees.



A pair of Bald Eagles flew over one of the ponds and stirred up all the waterfowl. We saw a number of eagles and were lucky enough to see these two fly by us up close.

We always see Northern Harriers cruising over the fields and hovering over the grasses looking for rodents. It was very windy and this one had to struggle to hover. I love the colors of his feathers and the owl-like face.





This Red-tailed Hawk perched right next to the road in the brambles. He thought he was hidden, but we could see him. You can really see the hooked bill in this close-up photo...and a bit of food left on his bill.

Next time: the waterfowl and tweety birds of Ridgefield.

5 comments:

  1. Those are incredible! We don't see a lot of birds of prey around here, especially with the winter weather.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is a magnificent series: the last shot is magnificent, intense and delicate. Gorgeous photos!
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing photos, I am so jealous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That red-tail shot is excellent.
    Have I missed an announcement of a Christmas present, or have you got a new camera.... you're taking some stunners!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kingsdowner: No new camera. Mr. Nut rented a larger and better quality lens during the holidays and many of the photos were taken with that. I'm sure your comment will fuel his desire to buy that lens now! Thanks for the nice comments!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.