Afternoon Raptor Free Flight

Before the afternoon show we spent some time in the Hummingbird House.  Activity was low due to hot weather.

The afternoon Free Flight program was every bit as outstanding as the morning show;  if you get a chance I whole heartily recommend attending BOTH!

GRAY HAWK

(duplicate shots are all the same bird)

GRAY HAWK

GRAY HAWK

GRAY HAWK

BARN OWL

BARN OWL

BARN OWL

HARRIS HAWKS hunt in family groups;  today we had a family of three!   

HARRIS HAWK

HARRIS HAWKS

HARRIS HAWK

HARRIS HAWK

Morning Raptor Free Flight

There are two Raptor Free Flight shows each day at the Tucson Desert Museum.  Friend Beth and I planned to see both because each has a unique set of birds.  I won't say much about the birds;  they speak for themselves!

But first a couple wild birds in the desert......

PHAINOPEPLA

CACTUS WREN

Now for the raptors!

RAVEN

GREAT HORNED OWL

GREAT HORNED OWL

GREAT HORNED OWL

(duplicate shots are of the same bird)

PRAIRIE FALCON

PRAIRIE FALCON

FERRUGINOUS HAWK

FERRUGINOUS HAWK

FERRUGINOUS HAWK

Handlers waiting for the RED TRAIL HAWK to return.

 RED TAIL at end of LONG dive!

Red Tail at Crater Lake

This juvenile (?) Red Tailed Hawk (?)  met me on Garfield Point and followed me back down the trail to the Lodge.  I wasn't sure this was a Red Tail as the colors were more grayish than brownish red, but seems likely now that she was a juvenile.  More information is always welcome in comments!

I got a good look at the underneath of her wings while she was in flight over the lake.  So challenging to get this kind of shot!

She landed in a tree along the path just past the Lodge....

Hopping from branch to branch for several minutes......

Until a couple walking down the trail caught her attention and she lifted off to fly back up to the trail to Garfield Point......

My attention was also diverted and so I missed the last shot of her soaring away!

Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuge

My annual summer trip to Oregon was late this year and I hoped it would offer an opportunity to see the beginnings of the winter migration.  No such luck,  while I did make several stops, it was hot and the sky was smokey with very little water in the refuges.   (Now, beginning of Dec,  they are starting to post many pics on FB of the migration).

Too hot but still a nice walk around the Marsh Trail.  Saw this one bird (need to identify) and few water types.

At the Lower Klamath the viewing platforms were infested with wasps!  Even if there had been any birds I couldn't get near them!

The driving loop at Tule Lake will no doubt be wonderful in winter.  This bird blind is near the beginning before leaving the highway for the levee roads.

But oh the smoke!   These are mostly Mud Hens, ducks, and White Pelicans.

I left early, too disappointed as this is probably not an area I will visit in the middle of winter.

Sacramento Wildlife Refuge

The water had not  been turned back into the refuge and it was HOT.  I stopped for a quick look at the Visitor's Center.  There is a nice trail for a future visit.  No birds today though.

I did learn something interesting and important for future visits.....the refuges don't maintain water levels through the year.

Condors

The pic is not so much, but did want to remember that I saw these condors at Big Bend in Zion National Park.

Manzanita Osprey at Melones

The other osprey family I have been following is at the Manzanita Campground.  In fact, the nest is right over one camp!  Doesn't seem to bother the birds at all.  Unlike the Lupine nest that is far from the water, this one is right on the edge of the lake.

Because I didn't start monitoring this test until later in the season when the chicks were all ready hatched I seldom saw both adults at the nest at the same time.

They had a full house with three chicks!

One chick was testing his wings way ahead of the other two.  Weird shot; just happened to catch him up in the air!

The parents are busy fishing non-stop as the chicks grow feathers very quickly.

I never did stay long enough to see an adult actually land in the nest with a fish; still, the feeding was intense.

It was only a few days before the biggest chick was gone; leaving two in the nest.

The evening I took this last set of pics it was windy and getting pretty late.  The family was clearly waiting for dinner!  But in the mean time they tested their wings.  It was really cool how they lift off on the wind, but never leave the safety of the nest.

Watch out Mom!

They were still waiting, sort of patiently, for dinner when I head back to my camp in Acorn at sunset.