Both Walt and I had a lot of fun with these birds and hopefully, there will be more
Just outside the facility, not connected with the other birds was a female ladderback. Thankfully Walt had set my camera on a quick speed with allowed me to get the bird flying off. This gal loves stripes!!!
First up is a grey hawk. You know you hear hawk, particularly around our neck of the woods, and you think chickenhawk, and although they are fun to see and photograph, these different hawks are really beautiful. Hopefully, we captured that in these photos. This lady was in a beautiful silver grey shade.
When she starts flying they are really gorgeous. They make it look so effortless, you really get the idea you could be Icarus too!
I had never seen these hawks before - even in my bird book, and now I know why. These are more of a tropical bird and their northern boundary is the very most southern part of the US. They aren't seen north of there unless they are in a zoo or something. They are absolutely gorgeous.
Perching is a great way to see their size and color, but....
They are really beautiful in flight
Like all raptors, they are most elegant when they are soaring, especially when soaring right towards you.
I love this as their "fingers" seem to stretch out to grasp the wind to be carried by the wind.
They actually hunt in families with the Alpha-Female being the head of the clan. Junior may kill something, but the lady in charge will be the one who eats it! However they do work together to hunt food, and here's an example of how they practically overwhelm their prey. They all want to help out, and of course, they all want a little tidbit!
