Camera Critters

I am thrilled with the variety of wildlife that wanders through our backyard. Our visitors include deer, red fox, gray squirrels--both gray and black phase, racoons, muskrat, and numerous species of birds.

The property behind us has a stand of gigantic Colorado spruce trees, in the tallest of which a pair of red-tailed hawks has made their residence. We frequently see the hawks circling above the clearing. Yesterday, the female perched in the ash tree near our fence. From her post, she had equally good views of our deck feeders and the stream which has been a hot spot of activity since all the ponds are frozen over.

red-tailed hawk3 small

She eventually flew further into the woods, but I was thankful to watch her for just a little while and wished I had an even more powerful zoom lens for the camera. (*sigh* Some things just aren't practical.)

For more great animal photos, check out Camera Critters.
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Comments

Great photo Adrienne ~ you have all sorts of critters that wander through your yard!
Rhea said…
Beautiful hawk! So majestic. You are lucky to have such a busy backyard!
Toni said…
Great picture!!! We have a hawk that hangs out back behind our house but I have yet to catch him on film!!!
Beautiful photo! I love your header too ... cardinals are so pretty.
Unknown said…
Great photo of a majestic bird !!
Groomer Angie said…
What a great shot! I love any of the hawks, we have a couple at our new house. Since I have a couple of 5 lb dogs though, I have to really watch out for them. ;)
Bruce said…
Scary...i'm afraid of those big birds...i'm probably too big for them to pick up but i don't like to take chances! Nice picture though:)
Adrienne: Congrats on being featured and what a neat Coopers Hawk you captured.
Carolina said…
Great shot! We have some birds of prey in our backyard too. Never had the chance to make such a nice photo of them.
Anonymous said…
Sounds like a wonderful habitat...how lucky you are to have it around you. I've got 200mm and that's certainly not enough zoom...not sure 300mm would be either. I know what you mean, the really long ones are WAY too much.
Barb said…
We live in the city and rarely get to see anything as wonderful as this hawk up close.

Luck you! :)
Wow good shot! Gorgeous bird!
Snap said…
He is beautiful! We live in the city and never see a hawk ... until this year ... just one ...wonder if he's lost? !!!

Thanks for stopping by.
Misty DawnS said…
I think hawks are so gorgeous! Hey, whatever you do, don't insult this photo - it's fantastic!!! Way better than anything I've been able to get (and I've got the zoom)... it seems the hawks around here have a conspiracy against me and refuse to let me get a good photo ;-)
Adrienne Zwart said…
Well, now Fishing Guy has me wondering if this might not be a red-tailed hawk after all. I confess, in the years I've been watching this pair, I've wondered myself. The underside of the tail is white, but the top is red, which is why I eventually decided they are red-taileds. They seem much too large to be Coopers hawks, though. If anyone knows of a good website with side-by-side comparison, please pass the info along!
EG CameraGirl said…
Neat photo. I've never gotten close enough to a hawk to take it's photo. ;-(

You asked if our suet feeder is squirrel proof. YES! My husband drilled a hole in a wok (purchased at a garage sale), which is upside down a few feet off the ground on a pole next to a shrub rose. A few squirrels have leaped the distance from my husband's workshop roof to the pole...and landed in the prickly roses. Each squirrel does that ONCE, then is amazingly content to eat leftover sunflower seeds the birds toss out of the nearby sunflower seed feeder.
Linda said…
He looks like he hasn't got a care in the world.

I live in the UK and I'm lucky to live close to some woodlands where wild deer roam.

I'm always surprised when I come across one and can't help marvel at how beautiful they are.
Carletta said…
What a beautiful capture of the hawk!
Just looking at the tail here I would say it's a red tailed hawk. A cooper's hawk , I believe, has a blue grey tail on top and the underside is white barred with black bands.
Hope you get a shot from the back or in flight.
A great capture. I tried last week with a zoom mind you and didn't get one this good.
Adrienne Zwart said…
Thanks, Carletta. I pulled out my field guides and have decided that this is, in fact, a red-tailed hawk, based on the short tail and white chest with slight barring. (And of course, the red tail that isn't showing here.) Not that I mind...I love looking through field guides! I do hope to catch a shot of its red tail in a photo someday.
Grammy said…
That is an awesome photo of the hawk!
Barbara said…
Hawks bring me great peace when I see them. Whether they are soaring in the sky or perched in a tree. Love this shot.
Smiles B
Wonderful catch of an awesome predator
Norm said…
nice capture of a pretty bird. Check out my lizard here and thanks for the visit.
Anonymous said…
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
dreameyce said…
Stunning hawk photo! We have those around here too, and I too, wish I had a better zoom lens! heehee
Wow - that's a great picture! We recently have had about 5 hawks in a tree a couple of houses away. They aren't the type that's in your photo...they are HUGE!

Please check out my Camera Critters:
http://eightymphmom.blogspot.com
Coy Hill said…
Nice capture of the redtailed hawk! The ones I encounter don't seem to like their picture taken.
Nice blog you have here, I'll be back.
magiceye said…
wonderful capture!
Unknown said…
How nice! I just got a baby granddaughter with a similar name as yours, Adrianna. :)

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