Made it out to the lake over the weekend and was privileged to see our first of the season scissor-tailed flycatcher. It was a chilly morning (31), so there were quite a few birds hanging out on the warm(er) pavement. At this time of year, I always worry about the early arrivals who primarily eat insects. We also saw this beautiful young red-tailed hawk.
Sitting in the backyard is so much better than television! Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
And, don’t forget the mammals.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
I was walking in the woods at the lake this morning and found a dead red-tailed hawk along the edge of the trees. From what I could tell, it looked like she had been shot. She was still clutching a small branch that I imagine broke off as she fell. I said a few words and covered her with some leaves and sticks so she will be out of sight of humans, but can peacefully become food for others and part of the earth. I think about all of the red-tails I have come into contact over the years, the joy of watching them fly, and the thoughtfulness of their eyes. Rest in peace.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
I went to the lake this morning before the sun came up. It was chilly, but really nice to be the only human most of the time. The best part was getting a front row seat to this beautiful red-tailed hawk as she took a bath in the lake. After the bath, she flew up to a tree nearby and hung out as I walked around the shore. Nice morning! Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
One of these days when we visit NYC, we will have to make a stop to check out Pale Male’s house on 5th Avenue. In case you have not heard of him, he is a red-tailed hawk who has lived in NYC for just about twenty years. That’s right, a red-tailed hawk thriving in the most urban of urban areas for twenty years—and he is not the only one. I was thinking about him yesterday as I listened to a Bird Note episode about his popularity with not only NYC birders, but New Yorkers in general. It was nice to hear this broadcast after I had been driving around a nearby lake earlier looking at all of the trash left by hunters and thinking, it can’t all be bad news, can it? Despite what we humans throw at them (sometimes, quite literally), wild birds just keep on keeping on. They find a way. I hope that we humans can learn to be better at self-reflection. I hope we can learn to stop and look up, stop and listen, and think about what truly matters. I hope that we can learn to make connections. We can learn that the chickens we eat matter just as much as the wild birds we watch. I hope that we can learn to look at our inconsistencies and truly reflect. We’re not perfect and we do not have to be perfect. We just have to stop and think, reflect, evolve. Imagine a collective reflection. Imagine the kind of change we could make.
© Chris Taylor
Their beautiful soaring and thoughtful faces are always welcome. Check out the red-tailed hawk nest cam at Cornell for amazing looks at Big Red, Ezra and their three little ones. Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
Finally, some time to go out! Click on pictures to enlarge.
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
©Chris Taylor
A red-tailed hawk very stubbornly sat herself on top of this purple martin house. I watched for a while as the purple martins dive-bombed and called her some pretty nasty names.
Purple martins are amazing aerialists. The poor red-tailed hawk was no match for them despite the difference in size.
© Chris Taylor
They won. She moved on.
© Chris Taylor
