(You really need to click to enlarge these photos to see these beauties close up!) I’ve been busy the last few days taking pics of hawks.
I got to be up close and personal with Harris and Red Tail Hawks, hold, fly them, and photograph them.
In other words, I was in heaven!
Check out the pics of the red tail. Beautiful isn’t he! Next post I’ll introduce you to the Harris Hawks and show you them flying and hunting in tandem. Amazing!
I took these pics at West Coast Falconery which is run by Kirk Selinger a licensed falconer and his apprentice Denise Disharoon. Kirk is a former National Geographic videographer, who now spends his time raising hawks, owls and vultures. He lives in a place just about as remote as The Holler, and we drove down a rutted dirt road to spend some time with him and his gorgeous birds. More pics of the red tail!
This is a seven month old melanistic Red Tailed Hawk. It’s feathers are darker than normal due to excess melanin production.
Here he is having a shower which he loves!
To see Kirk’s operation click on: http://westcoast-falconry.com/falconry-education/west-coast-falconry-san-diego/
The Holler hawks have been very active and flying very close to me lately, so I’ll try to post some shots of them as well. Cheers to you from Hawk Heaven!
Those hawk’s beaks are really scary.
They are certainly powerful~
Such a majestic bird! It’s a delight to see the red-tailed hawk in such detail. Beautiful pictures, as always.
Majestic describes them perfectly!
Gorgeous.
Aren’t they incredible!!
Wow! just wow!
I like this comment! 🙂
Great post!
Grazi Eunice and hope you are feeling better soon~
Just wrote a post and I have views from the roof I just cleared too bad more snow is on our heels 5 to 8 more so I shall spend more time on the roof than Rudolf and Santa 🙂 I am resting a day in between shoveling or when I can I must pace myself 🙂
Incredible, amazing, beautiful and wow!
So nice & appreciated~
I love to watch the hawks circling in our area, or tucking in their wings and diving on a target. They are wonderful, magnificent creatures. It’s particularly sad when I see a pile of feathers on the highway, knowing that a beautiful bird was killed just for doing his “job.”
Thanks for sharing these
Yes, you and I feel just the same about these magnificent creatures! Good!
Wow, these are majestic birds, every bit as awe-inspiring as eagles. I heard that hawks have so much power in their talons that they can crush the bones in our hands. One good reason to wear strong leather gloves when working with them! I love seeing the expression in their eyes and the details in their feathers in your photos.
Yes, they do have incredibly powerful biting pressure, but they also modulate it and rarely use it. I feel just as you do about the up close details of these remarkable creatures!
A really Majestic Bird!!!!
That is the word that best describes them!
They are magnificent, CIndy!
I love people who love hawks…..and golden retrievers too of course!!!
Wow, Cindy. What a show. Magnificent. 🙂 While I’m here, lest I forget, Happy Holidays to your and yours. Thank you for all the wonderfully beautiful posts and your amazing heart. Love, Paulette
You are pure joy Paulette, to so many, including all the animals you save & shelter!
awesome, Cindy, what a privilege! your photos are masterpieces too!
Awwww, that makes me feel good! Merci~
Yay, Cindy……..love these pics
Hard to take a bad one of these beautiful creatures!
Gorgeous birds! Great photos! Blessings, Natalie 🙂
Blessings back to you Natalie!
Amazing pictures and amazing birds.
I am happy you enjoyed both!
Magnificent.
This is the word that best describes them!
Wow. I have never seen these birds this close up before. We have quite a few Red-tailed hawks and Harris Hawks. They are always so quietly perched – high on a light pole – overlooking all they can see below. So imposing. Beautiful. Truly beautiful. I saw one once, it was standing in the snow – right after a kill and feast. I wish I had a camera – it was amazing. Blood all around on the snow and on its chest. Scary. But still amazingly beautiful.
There is something magical and mysterious about the raptors. They are so amazingly good at what they do, fly, hunt and survive. Glimpsing them for me is always a thrill and I am so glad you feel the same~
There used to be two red tails that lived near my son’s middle school – we named them Harry and Hermione. Believe it or not, I still see them around – or maybe they are the next generation:)
Amazing….as always! Thanks for sharing. ~Blessings~
Mil grazi & blessings to you!
I can’t add any new adjective to describe your wonderful photos. . . so WOW! Thanks!
Wow is wonderful!!! Thank you~
Amazing!
So glad you think so!
Majestic!
Yes!!
Magnificent pics and post!
Yes, that is what these birds are!
Absolutely beautiful. Birds of prey are so interesting.
They fascinate me! So mysterious~
Oh my gosh, How Gorgeous are They!
Aren’t they wild and beautiful!!
Handsome!!!
Indeed~
Oh wow what amazing shots.
Mil grazi~
Wow ! How in the world do you manage to take photos of these beauties ? You’re amazing !
You are very nice……
Bit it’s true ! I can’t even take a good pic of a rock.
Very stunning photographs! The first one is so majestic with the details enhancing its strength…and you have a steady hand with what appears to be a telephoto or zoom!
So kind of you & so appreciated!
Wow, what a bird. Pawkiss 🙂
Back to you two!
These are perfect shots, Cindy
It’s easy to take decent shots of a perfect creature!! Thank you Al~
Awesome pictures!
Awesome bird!!!
Wooow! I’m impressed. You got some great shots there Cindy! I’d love to visit the falconry if we ever get out that direction. Ha… back in the day.. my dungeons and dragons character had a Falcon I could talk to. 😆
That’s cool……If you are in D & D, you need a falcon you can talk too!!
Besides the fabulous images, getting an up-close-and-personal opportunity had to be quite a thrill!
Considering all the time I spend trying to photograph them in the air, it was a major thrill for me to get up close with them! A wonderful experience. Thanks for intuiting this~
It was wonderful … especially since my college mascot was a falcon. 🙂
Majestic animals – aren’t they!
Oh yes, contained power~
Beautiful birds of prey and awesome photos 🙂 How wonderful to be so up close and personal with them!
I thought they would be more aloof, but they were very interactive and responsive!
As always, WOW!!!
Love that word!
Fabulous pics, Cindy. The eyes look strangely flat rather than convex. Interesting. RH
I have some shots that show the convesity of the eye surface and are shot through the aqeous humour, but you are quite correct, they do have a rather flat, rotating lens. Hawk eyes! They can spot a mouse from a mile up!
Cindy, you’ve captured their eloquence and majesty. I have quite a few in my neighborhood, and just yesterday one of the juveniles was basking in a tree close to my backyard. They spend considerable time watching my bird feeder station. Sometimes they come into my garden and it’s a glorious sight.
Yes, they are watching your feeder, deciding……..lol! They do spend the bulk of their day resting, so your observations are quite accurate~
Ah, gorgeous! Scary, but gorgeous!
If you get up close to them in a situation like this, they are not at all scary. Sometimes they fly close to me in the wild, and I always love this, except when it is three at one time, and I can’t keep my eye on each of them! They are powerful creatures~
I always have the sense they tolerate humans. We are a matter of mostly indifference to them.
Great photos! Red Tails are so beautiful and majestic.
I agree wholeheartedly!
Oh, Cindy, these are breathtaking!
They are amazing creatures aren’t they!
They are wonderful. And such amazing pictures. is it your arm they are sitting at? it must have been so interesting to vistit this Falconry!
Denise held the Red-tail but I held the Harris Hawks. It was a remarkable experience!
I believe so! This is a thing I would like to do and to take my boys with me. Beautiful proud birds!
A couple of these are just the pure essence of the bird, Cindy…, the fierce eyes, the haughty dignity, just the picture of majesty
Couldn’t agree with you more Paul!
What magnificent photos!!
Very kind of you to say & most appreciated too!
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That is so thoughtful and very appreciated! Cheers to you and thank you~
Beautiful pictures 🙂 … blessings.
Deniese
Magnificent birds and photographs
Thank you Russel and cheers to you my friend~
Oh my gosh I want to hold one!! The Hawk pics are super fantastic!! Merry Christmas Hugz Lisa and Bear
There were such a thrill to get up close too!! So glad you like them~
Just beautiful.
That makes me happy! Thank you~
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Awesome! These captures are breathtaking.
Amazing magestic creatures! Your photos are positively stunning.
Aren’t they incredible. Today they were flying soooo low overhead…..I have figured out that I am just in love with hawks! They are synonomous with wild freedom~
Wow! Stunning photos, Cindy 🙂
Not hard to do with creatures as stunning as this but thank you!
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Awwww so kind and so appreciated! Thank you~
Very nice. It is such a pleasure getting photos of hawks that are tethered.
Stay tuned for them flying……
These guys are breathtaking, absolutely commanding of presence. Great pics Cindy!
Yes, something ineffable about them that captures one’s complete attention~
WOW! Great photographs of this amazing bird. Thank you, and also Thank you for visiting my blog. With my love, nia
Welcome! So happy you enjoyed and you are very talented!
It looks so powerful, like the mythical bird Garuda!
(It somehow reminds me of our national emblem which happens to be Garuda)
😀
I had to google Garuda!! There is some resemblence isn’t there~
Yes, the bird looks so mighty and regal. It looks like a King of the sky. Such a beautiful creature! 😀
Einfach wunderschöne Bilder herrrlich wünsche dir einen schönen Tag liebe Grüße und Freundschaft.Gislinde
Frohe Weihnachten euch mein lieber Freund Gislinde!
What a beauty!
How such beautiful creatures could ever have gotten a bad reputation is beyond me~
Fantastic birds. The third and fourth shots could easily be on a postal stamp.
We need a red tail on a stamp!! They deserve some respect!
Amazing photography, as always!
Amazingly nice! Mil grazi~
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Beautiful photos!!
Your blog is so important! Thank you so much for it and for all your hard work! Thank you also for your kindess. Cheers to you~
Such excellent up close photos. They’re gorgeous birds.
Aren’t they formidable and marvelous!
How much healthier they seem without crows harassing them ….
That was the first thing I noticed….the sheen of the feathers, the health compared to the wild ones. The wild ones have been flying so low ever since I returned from my time with the hawks. It’s almost like they smell hawk on me……..
Maybe they do 🙂 Or maybe they missed you 🙂
Hard to guess what a hawk is thinking…..I am definitely too big to eat, that much I know!!!!
thrilling. This post sizzles with excitement, and the hawks are beauties! How awesome for you! 🙂
It’s better sharing it with you!
We have red-tails around our mountain year-round. We mostly see them gliding between the trees. A few years back a smaller hawk began roosting in woods around the bend. They have had several broods since. I mostly see them soaring a good distance up, so I have not gotten a positive identification, but I guess they are sharp-shinned by their color and wing spread.
Oscar
They should return to the nest each year as they are monogamous. When they get accoustomed to you watching them a lot (like me) they will fly close to you to check you out……if you have the time. I know the farm keeps you very busy. They are a joy to have around and I love to watch the mating flights, nesting and chick rearing. Cheers to you Oscar~
Hawk Heaven indeed. I love, love their eyes.
YES!! So hard to come up with adjectives to describe them!
Showing hubby your awesome photos – he is also in awe of your talent!
Awwww, that is so humbling. Thank you & cheers to you and your hubby~
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Oh so kind of you and so appreciated! Thank you~
Brilliant!
How kind! Thanks much and welcome too!
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