Red-Tail-Kids~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES

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I had an opportunity to get up close and personal with a juvenile red-tailed hawk.
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They are magnificent creatures.
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both up close and in the sky,

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although I far prefer to see them flying free.
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We have three juvenile hawks in Holler skies now.
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They fly closer to us than the adults,
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Red Tails don’t develop the characteristic red-tail until their first year molt,

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and their feather colors can vary from quite dark to very light.
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Cheers to you from the Red-Tail-Kids~

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217 thoughts on “Red-Tail-Kids~”

  1. Such splendid creatures!! And you’ve got some dandy photos here, Cindy. Gee, just looking at those claws and beaks makes me shudder, ha!

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  5. The last photo makes it look fierce and angry, like he’d rather rip out your eye than look at you. 🙂 I’ve never seen them up real close. The pictures are amazing shots, and they seem like powerful birds.

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    1. Even “trained” raptors never lose their wildness. They never warm up to being a pet with a person. At the most they are indifferent to their captors, but I sensed some hatred there too. They want to be free. In the sky, living free, they can be very interested in a person as long as the person lives in their territory without many other people to annoy them.

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  6. Beautiful plumage! Thanks for these close-up images. They remind me of the time I spent up close to Red Tail Hawks and other raptors when I volunteered at a rehabilitation center. The other times I’ve seen them close up is when I was high up in the mountains. The seem to fly so low but then I had to remind myself that it only seems this way because I was high up in elevation! 🙂

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    1. Your rehab work must have been fascinating and I love the description of meeting them at higher altitude. I never thought of this, but The Holler is on a mountain, so the raptors are often flying at eye level, which maybe why they come closer to us.

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  16. I wondered when I’d hear about the red-tails, Cuz. This/these young-uns are simply gorgeous. Were they at a vet’s office or a falconry ? 🙂

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    1. Good guesses. It’s a guy who trains hawks and uses them to control seagulls at local businesses. He also flies with them while para-sailing above Black’s Beach in La Jolla and films it!

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  20. Hawk is one of my totems. I just love the raptors. We only have Pueo owls and the I’o or Hawaiian hawk here. I miss the range of raptors on the mainland US, but not enough to return ;*( Aloha, Cindy.

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  22. Those red tail kids are so cute, Cindy. Their eyes look so clever and expressive. I know they are scary with powerful beak and claws. I think they sense how we feel, like horses and dogs do. What a wonderful set of photos! 🙂

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  40. Querida amiga, me han parecido impresionantes tus fotos. La profesión de “halconero” nos transporta a la Edad Media en que los “señores” utilizaban los halcones para sus juegos y cacerías. ¡Qué bonito pájaro!, y qué elegante vuelo. Me alegra que lo hayas disfrutado y que lo compartas con nosotros. 😉

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