Meet the Harris Hawks! Click to enlarge. Please stay tuned to my next post (pt. III and maybe IV) to watch all the hawks in flight, what a sight!
Here’s a sneak preview of them launching off! It was amazing to call them back to glove!
We flew two Harris Hawks who usually hunt cooperatively in groups of 2-6, enabling them to catch larger prey like jack-rabbits.
Harris Hawks are native to the southwestern United States, Chile and Argentina. The silver device you see on the hawks leg is a telemetric tracker in case the hawk were to get lost while flying.
They are a highly social bird and are frequently trained by falconers.
These hawks are working hawks who chase seagulls away from posh beachfront hotels in San Diego. Their presence alone is enough to scare the seagulls away.
We flew them, watched them search, and called them back to hand!
What a thrill! No wonder this has been the ancient art of kings and queens.
In fact, The earliest records of falconry date from Mesopotamia in 2ooo BC!
When I returned to The Holler from my time with the hawks, the red-tails flew closer than ever before, enabling me to get some good shots. Do you suppose they smelled the hawks on me? Who knows? All I know is that hawks are very clever birds and I love them!
Cheers to you from Hawk Holler!
I can see you do like hawks. I remember them as deadly birds.They used to dive down and trap our chicken with their feet.
I know they can be formidable predators but it is what they must do to survive.
What a wonderful experience that must have been Cindy! And your photos just get better and better. The hawks’ coloring and expressions and in flight – you are simply amazing. And I love the new name – Hawk Holler!
I should change the name doncha think??????
Amazing, Cindy!
Season’s greetings and big warm wishes to you and yours! Resa xo
And to you my friend….. I was wondering if you have designed a gown (or two) for yourself??? I would love to see them~
I’m so grateful for the photographs. They are so beautiful and I just love seeing these wonderful pictures. Thank you so much.
It is I who is grateful for your appreciation! So happy you like the hawks as I do~
No wonder Native Americans used to choose hawks and eagles as powerful totem animals – I can’t get over the sense of strength and power they exude.
Yes, I am always comforted when they are around. My friend Sachem says they are my guides. I like this concept~
Majestic creature.Have a joyous Christmas and bright new year.jalal
You too my friend and your family~
Superb photographs Cindy. I’ve been loving this series. Thanks.
I can tell you do and am glad. We both can sense the spirit of the hawks!
Magnificent looking birds. Your photos are stunning. x
That is one magnificent bird. Hawks are such an amazing animal……… would not want to mess with one 😉
They are powerful and effiecient and I agree with you, magnificent!
Wow!!
Yes!!!
Beautiful photos, Cindy. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a hawk land on my wrist. I suspect it’s a little different than the parakeet of my youth. 🙂 –Curt
Heavier certainly!! lol. It was just wonderful! I couldn’t get enough of them!
I think it would be a great experience… with a nice heavy glove on your wrist. 🙂 –Curt
Human beauty just pales in comparison to animal beauty. I swear, even a platypus is a fine looking animal (what was God thinking!?) while a raving raptor beauty so close up like this is beyond breathtaking. His eyes look on fire, and in that first post? That beak to sky caw shot was phenomenal. I have never seen such an angle.
You should work for Nat GEO! 🙂
I agree, the beauty of the wild creatures has always moved me immensely. I am thrilled out of my gourd when I am around them. Hawks are so mysterious, and looking into their eyes was just remarkable. Of course you pick up on this intuitively. Thank you~
What a fabulous post and the photos are truly spectacular! I too am a raptor lover and have been thrilled to see two falcon! That’s a first!
What incredible creatures the raptors are!! So glad you agree~
Reblogged this on The Iniquitous Church Crimes.
Ohhh, that is so very kind! Thank you!
Waiting patiently for Part III. I cannot believe how gorgeous .. and to see up close … stunning. Some years back when living at the base of the Black Mountains of Colorado, I used to watch them fly above the old church house in which I lived. Above as I could measure them with the eye, it was as though some had a wingspan in excess of 7-10 feet – my constant partners. Thank you for the memories. 🙂
Aren’t they incredible! I have a similar memory of laying in a field in Wyomming as a child playing dead, watching the circling eagles and hoping they would land to check me out!! lol~
Lovely photos of my brothers and sisters. As you probably have ascertained from my name, I have a special connection to hawks. They came to me in a time of great need, and have never left me. “Rising Hawk.” Though I am not of Native American heritage, that name was given me by a Chiricahua Apache elder, and I cherish it. Peace . .
Yes, hawks comfort me . When they are over my head I feel that all is right in the world. Sachem told me they were looking out for me. After living with them for six years, this is how I feel. I was thrilled to pieces when nesting harrier hawks dove at me in Patagonia. I just ducked and loved it! Hawks rule!
Yes, they do! Love them 🙂 Peace . . .
Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
Your blog is so important! I am honored~
Great photos! Thank you. I pinned and scooped some (see the scoop at http://www.scoop.it/t/ecoscifi).
How awesome of you!! Thank you & cheers to you~
What a great experience and pleased that you shared it. 🙂
I am pleased that you appreciate it! Mil grazi~
Amazing photos and your photos make me feel like i am right there.
It is wonderful to look a hawk in the eye isn’t it!!
Gorgeous! When I was young I dreamed of becoming a falconer. Now, I just live to travel. I get excited when ever I see a bird of prey though, like a little kid.
One thing I noticed as I grow older is that the passions I had as a child are still there and now I have the time and resources to pursue them! It is wonderful to rediscover the childlike wonder that is still inside each of us. Cheers to you~
Great pictures, Cindy. Do all these hawks have names, like Harris, Smith, Jones, Brown???? 🙂
They do all have names, but they were so exotic there was no way I could keep them straight. I am not good with names but I do know yours Barton!!! lol~
🙂 🙂 🙂
Awesome bird!!
I am glad you agree!
Impressive shot! 🙂
Impressive bird!!! lol~
Love that bird…..it looks huge
With wings extended it is!
yes, courtesy of mother nature
Perhaps the hawks could sense your attitude to and admiration for their species. And they were reciprocating your love for them…
You know, at my stage in life, I seriously think this is credible. Animals survive and perceive things that we do not. Thank you Russel for sensing this~
I adore Hawks and what fantastic pics!! Such gorgeous creatures!! To be that close to them is a dream!! Merry Christmas!! Hugz Lisa and Bear
Hugz and Merry Christmas back to you two!
Working hawks; how wonderful. And weren’t you having the most wonderful time? 🙂
Yes!!!! Retirement rocks it’s socks off!!! 🙂
You are a poster person for the good life in retirement.
You too my dear!
Again, wow!
The best word to read in a comments section! lol~
Once again, stunning! I can imagine you with your camera near our flamingos… 🙂
oooohhhhh, when should I come???? lol~
Traditionally, they are here between October and April. However, this year they began showing up in early September. Peyriac de Mer is an ideal village to catch droves of them and a lovely little artsy village at that. 🙂
divine!
Wonderful, wonderful captures and a tribute to their majestic design and power. Nature reigns in my life too.
When you let nature reign, you find happiness~
Beautiful birds!
Agreed! Thank you~
These photos are so awesome, I feel like I was there… Great information. Thank you, Cindy!
The thanks go to you for your appreciation……and your awesome blog!
Another fantastic pictures of the birds. I would go crazy if I live in such area 🙂
Hanging out with the hawks is a thrill and a half. Cheers to you my friend~
Beautiful photos, and a great experience.
It was especially wonderful! Cheers & thanks~
Reblogged this on Spirit In Action and commented:
So beautiful! I love birds. It is amazing to me how majestic creatures like hawks will choose to work with plain old humans but so nice for us that they do.
So nice of you and so appreciated! Mil grazi, and yes with hawks, one always knows that they choose what they are going to do. They always pause to decide!
It must be so amazing to be so close to them frequently! Here I do frequently see the Ospreys tho only usually get closer to them when out in the water which I haven’t yet been able to do in 2013. I think the birds who call a place home set a lot of the “tone” or energy of the area. I’ve never been to California and only out west at all when I was 3 but your images give me an impression of the landscape and the feeling of it. I look forward to someday visiting in person to see if my impression is close to the reality. Have you ever considered publishing your photos? Maybe a coffe table type book about the land where you are with all the birds, the plants and landforms and the different light and colours. I’m not great about how marketers promote such things but I know people love to experience beauty and you seem to be building a great portfolio of images.
You are very kind and it is most appreciated. I photographed Ospreys for the first time this year at The Salton Sea. Such impressive birds! I would love to try and do a coffee table book, if I ever slow down enough to send some pics around which is pretty iffy! Thank you so much and hugz to you my friend!
Oh, wow! I LOVE birds of prey and what amazing pictures! I was lucky enough to fly a Harris Hawk once at a demonstration – it truly is an awesome experience 🙂
So you know what it is like…..it is a difficult experience to describe, for me it just felt natural and somehow, right! So glad you had the experience and thanks for telling me~
What wonderful shots – lucky you. I saw one for the first time at a falconry display in the summer – a most beautiful creature. Great shots, Cindy. RH
So glad you were able to see this & cheers to you!
Liebe Cindy hab deine Traumfotos bewundert das sind ja spitze Aufnahmen fotografiert in allen Bewegungen einfach nur schön wünsche dir eine gute Nacht und einen schönen 4 Advent mit ganz lieben Grüßen Klaus
Glückliche Advent lieber Klaus!
These are truly spectacular, Cindy.They make me want to be reincarnated as a hawk. Thanks for more wallpaper images for my computer.
Yay!! Both for the reincarnation wish and for using as wallpaper! Makes me glad on both accounts. You know what they say…..be careful what you wish for…..
Yeah, I guess I should be careful 🙂 Have a great day, Cindy….
Great shoot~
good day ^^
優しさをありがとう！
Thank you in Japanese～＾＾
Before I started reading your posts, I always thought of hawks as enemies of my bluebirds….I see them differently now.
That is truly wonderful. Thank you.
Your captures are wonderful, but I’ve got the feeling your experience with them was even better.
Yes, and it really never stops as the wild ones are all around me!
These are stunning!! You take such breathtaking photos… those ones of the moon, wow! I don’t know how you do it, but keep them coming 🙂
Ahhhhh, so kind & appreciated!
Reblogged this on aksharaalu – Best Collections.
You are very kind and very appreciated! Thank you~
Gotta love a fellow ginger! This hawk series is awesome! I’m patiently (not) waiting for the next set. I hope you are going to post a video (my Christmas wish? ) Yeah!
That is so kewl about the sea gulls. In Florida, all your saw was stoopid attempts at stringing fishing line around. It would be great to have one of these guys around. And salary would be cheap. A few fish a day!
Yes it is amazing to see the seagulls leave enmass when the hawks arrive! Heading off to the mountains to ski with the bambinos for Xmas but will post part two tonight. Cheers to you my friend and Merry Christmas!
Wunderschöne Bilder,wünsche dir einen schönen besinnlichen Advent und schöne Weihnachtstage Grüße und Freundschaft.Gislinde
Frohe Weihnachten mein lieber Freund Gislinde!
Magnificent and majestic 🙂
Yes thank you, but what does Wolfie think??????
Slurrp!! Dinner!!! Ohhhh yeahhh! lol 😀
Really wonderful Hawk photos, Cindy. They are such formidable predators. I wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of those talons. 😯
NO I wouldn’t either! They seemed quite restrained about using them unless hunting or defending a nest~
The intense expression you have caught in their eyes is riveting, great photography Cindy
What a bird. Spectacular shots Cindy!
Happy New Year to you and your family 🙂
Regards James.
Happiest & Healthiest New Year to you & yours and hopes for many finds of ancient and forgotten buried treasure!!
Ahh…Sue pointed me in the way of this post. My hubby and I just tried falconry in Marysville, CA and I just posted about it although your pictures are so much more beautiful! It was so interesting to me that falconry dates back to 2,000 BC! Thank you for such beautiful pics!
I think you visited the mother organization. I think they are connected. I am thrilled to see your pics. Heading over to your blog now. Cheers to you and welcome~
I got a link to this post some where and cannot believe I never got notification of it in the first place… brilliant photos as per normal…
All I can say is I am very glad you like my posts, because I am a major admirer of your photos and posts my friend~
Hello, do you have geagulls photos? i love you photo a very good job!
Yes I do have seagulls and I love them too! I got some great closeups of European gulls on my balcony and shots of their faces and eyes at home. Incredible creatures. Look under categories birds. Usted son muy amable! Abrazos a usted y muchos gracias tan bien!
I looked there but did not finsh, if can will you please send me the link or i will look has soon i can again, love you page esta muy interesante. One love
Yes I will send to you. I didn’t think of it.
Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.