Too many fungi (OK, Machel and Doug - you know I'm not serious, ha) , too many flowers .... I need a bird! This handsome, spectacular Bald Eagle lives at The Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre in southern Alberta, near Lethbridge. The Centre is a wonderful place that rescues and tries to rehabilitate injured birds of prey. Those that are able to be released are released and those that are injured too severely are kept and used in an educational way. I often see Bald Eagles in the wild, but never this close : )
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta near Lethbridge Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre nature ornithology avian bird birds bird of prey raptor Eagle Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus adult head shot portrait captive single bird side view feathers detail yellow bill image photograph digital square square crop outdoors beauty beautiful beauty in nature majestic powerful breathtaking awesome symbol US United States Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix point-and-shoot P1080708 FZ28 annkelliott beautiful_expression NaturesFinest
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This photo is from deep down in my archives, taken on 16 May 2009, at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge. A few, rare sightings have been reported in Alberta.
"The Harris's Hawk or Harris Hawk, formerly known as the Bay-winged Hawk, (Parabuteo unicinctus), is a medium-large bird of prey which breeds from the southwestern USA south to Chile and central Argentina. It is the only member of the genus Parabuteo, which literally means 'similar to Buteo'.
Its habitat is sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes (with some trees) in some parts of its range, including mangrove swamps, as in parts of its South American range. It nests in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs, incubated for 28 days to hatching.
It has blackish brown plumage with chestnut forewings (above and below) and thighs. The end of the tail and the rump are white. It has a length of 60 cm and a wingspan of 1.2 m; the average weight is about 900 g (2 pounds). Females are typically 10% bigger than males.
Harris's Hawks' social behavior is unusual for raptors. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. They also hunt together, groups of two to six birds often cooperating to flush and then capture prey (group hunting). In contrast, the vast majority of raptors are solitary hunters, and not at all gregarious.
This social behavior gives Harris's Hawks an easygoing nature that makes them desirable captive birds. Since about 1980, Harris's Hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are the easiest to train and the most affectionate.
Hunting with Harris's Hawks often works best with two or more birds. (In contrast most other raptors cannot be flown together, as they will attack each other.) When prey is flushed, the birds can work together to corner the animal – compensating for their relatively low acceleration and speed. Harris's Hawks will happily treat the falconer as a hunting partner, and will follow from tree to tree and perch until the falconer flushes a rabbit from the bushes.
They can easily catch and kill a rabbit, a hare or even a pheasant, but its natural prey are small rodents and reptiles." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris's_hawk
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harriss_Hawk/id
Tags: Alberta Canada near Lethbridge Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre nature ornithology avian bird birds bird of prey Hawk Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus perched tethered close-up side view bokeh Explore explore2014June20 interestingness#432 annkelliott Anne Elliott Lumix Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28
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Photographed this spectacular Ferruginous Hawk at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge in southern Alberta, on 16 May 2009. These large hawks are rare to uncommon in Alberta from April to September. I have seen several of them in the wild, which is pretty special, but only from a very long distance and much too far for photos.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferruginous_Hawk
Tags: Alberta Canada Lethbridge Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre nature wildlife ornithology avian bird birds hawk raptor bird of prey Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis annkelliott Anne Elliott Explore explore2014April05 dropped before Scouted screen shot taken © All Rights Reserved © Anne Elliott 2009
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Just not getting time to either get out and take new photos - or else the weather has been really bad. Will be so glad when I don't need to grab photos from my archives! Photographed on 16 May 2009 at the Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, Southern Alberta.
"The Swainson's Hawk is a fairly common hawk of the prairies, and is identified by the dark breast and contrasting light throat and abdomen. The head, back, primaries and breast are all a dark brownish grey. The belly is cream to white in color. The tail is finely barred with a dark terminal band. A rare dark phase, where the entire body appears all black except for the face and banded tail, does exist. In flight, the wings are tilted slightly upwards, similar to the northern harrier.
Most of western North America is included in the breeding range, but winters are spent as far south as Argentina.
Open areas, as found in the grassland, foothill and parkland regions, fit the lifestyle of the Swainson's hawk.
Nests are built in bushes or trees, and three to five eggs are laid. Swainson's hawks are late nesters and the young birds may not leave the nest until the end of July.
The Swainson's hawk is classified as Sensitive in the General Status of Alberta Wild Species report. Population is dependent on healthy ground squirrel population."
esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/wild-species/birds/large-ha...
Tags: Alberta Canada Southern Alberta Coaldale near Lethbridge Birds of Prey Centre nature fauna ornithology avian bird birds bird of prey Hawk raptor Swainson's Hawk close-up injured tethered bokeh Explore explore2014April04 annkelliott Anne Elliott interestingness#361
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I saw this Harris's Hawk at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, southern Alberta, on 16 May 2009. A few, rare sightings have been reported in Alberta.
"The Harris's Hawk or Harris Hawk, formerly known as the Bay-winged Hawk, (Parabuteo unicinctus), is a medium-large bird of prey which breeds from the southwestern USA south to Chile and central Argentina. It is the only member of the genus Parabuteo, which literally means 'similar to Buteo'.
Its habitat is sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes (with some trees) in some parts of its range, including mangrove swamps, as in parts of its South American range. It nests in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs, incubated for 28 days to hatching.
It has blackish brown plumage with chestnut forewings (above and below) and thighs. The end of the tail and the rump are white. It has a length of 60 cm and a wingspan of 1.2 m; the average weight is about 900 g (2 pounds). Females are typically 10% bigger than males.
Harris's Hawks' social behavior is unusual for raptors. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. They also hunt together, groups of two to six birds often cooperating to flush and then capture prey (group hunting). In contrast, the vast majority of raptors are solitary hunters, and not at all gregarious.
This social behavior gives Harris's Hawks an easygoing nature that makes them desirable captive birds. Since about 1980, Harris's Hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are the easiest to train and the most affectionate.
Hunting with Harris's Hawks often works best with two or more birds. (In contrast most other raptors cannot be flown together, as they will attack each other.) When prey is flushed, the birds can work together to corner the animal – compensating for their relatively low acceleration and speed. Harris's Hawks will happily treat the falconer as a hunting partner, and will follow from tree to tree and perch until the falconer flushes a rabbit from the bushes.
They can easily catch and kill a rabbit, a hare or even a pheasant, but its natural prey are small rodents and reptiles." From Wikipedia.
Tags: Alberta Canada Lethbridge Coaldale Birds of Prey Centre nature ornithology avian bird birds bird of prey Hawk Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus perched tethered injured Explore explore2014March30 dropped before Scouted annkelliott Anne Elliott © All Rights Reserved © Anne Elliott 2009
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