Looking for Owls in All the Wrong Places
Having thoroughly offended a family of red-tailed hawks, I must take it all back. I have seen them before, flying in the vicinity – always at a distance, usually at a great height – but I’ve never seen them in that nest before.
(Clicking on each photo will open a tab with a larger view.)
Last year, I took a photo of a great horned owl in a large nest located fifty feet above a river. While kayaking, I had seen it flying back and forth between the river and a stand of trees 200 feet away, and felt lucky to get a photo of just the top of its head, up in the nest. That photo is in my post from Wednesday, along with a new photo of a parent and chicks in that same nest.
Yesterday, I went kayaking with the purpose of taking more photos, before the nest would be obscured by too many leaves. On my first pass, there was no activity at the nest. I continued paddling downstream, and returned 90 minutes later to see an adult landing in the nest. As I got closer, I was able to see that it is not an owl. It’s a red-tailed hawk.
For the next hour, I sat and took took photos, mostly of the head of that adult. While framing those shots, the other parent flew into the frame and landed on the nest. From the repeated motion of its head, it would seem likely that it was tending to the young that I could not see.
They definitely are red-tailed hawks, so I humbly extend my apologies to them.
high above river
great horned owl leaves nest empty
young hawks wait for food
Ken G.
rivrvlogr 
Those sneaky owls! Love that first shot – the hawk’s spread wings in the branches. Beautiful.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Bob. I wish the hawks would put the word out to the great blue herons. I usually see them by April, but none so far. Of course, this would be true to the late spring we’re experiencing. (Never mind that it 90s for the next two days.)
LikeLike
Oh, herons! Maybe they’ll arrive soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great hawk shots … and red-tails are fun birds to observe. Interesting how we see what we expect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jazz.
We are creatures of habit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These photos are beautiful, Ken–especially the top one. Excellent haiku, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Merril!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You lucky man. What a privilege
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I agree.
LikeLike
It must be bliss, being on the river, in the wild, observing these beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing these latest photos, Ken.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 There were fewer birds on my last two paddles, but that should change real soon. Either way, it’s always an enjoyable time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Owl Be Back ~ haibun | rivrvlogr