Saturday 31 March 2012

Raptor hunting in Ian Millar's Field!

Birds are migrating. I spotted a purple finch pair.

Frog pond has a skiff of ice on top.
Cold days in Lanark County still. Overnight, the frog pond refroze. The Voices of Spring have been silenced, as they dig deep down into the muddy bottom.
Usually there are deer feeding here,
or wild turkeys.

New birds, purple finch, have been at the feeder.

Today, on my way into my volunteering at PCCC, I saw a BIG bird. At first I thought it was the hawk. Can you see it?

On closer inspection of the photos, I think it is the owl! But maybe not! People with eagle's eyes have thought perhaps the red-tail hawk.

You'll remember we visited the sugar shack on the weekend.

Whilst there, we saw owl's ear tufts, she was sitting high atop her nest. She is very high up in the nest, quite safely methinks.

I stopped the car this day, turned around, and refitted my camera with the zoom lens.

After cropping, I realized there were some duds, but you can see that it isn't a hawk, osprey or falcon. It has a very thick neck!

These fields belong to Ian Millar, international horseman, famous for Big Ben.



What an amazing bird!
Tough to follow it, very fast creature.






Camera Critters Meme

14 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i like the owl ear tuft in the nest. :)

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Looks like a hawk but great captures. V

eileeninmd said...

I love all the birds and the frog pond is wonderful. Great sighting and photos.

Red said...

Great shots of this bird. Catching it in flight is awesome. It looks like Goshhawk??

Anonymous said...

Great sighting and captures!

Unknown said...

Weather wise, we're at a stand still!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wow -- I can't believe you got those wonderful flight shots. Well, yes I can -- you're so talented! Cold again in your little piece of Paradise huh? I bet those birds are very appreciative of the feeders that you keep filled.

Anonymous said...
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Latane Barton said...

Jenn, those are beautiful birds. I love the way they soar through the air, so free and effortless. Oh to be a bird and just sail along looking for food or a drink of water. perfect.

Linda said...

Very good flight shots...I think I saw the fella in the nest...not sure though. Have a good night!

Jenn Jilks said...

It may well be a hawk. It's neck looks so thick, though. Ah my. It's hard to figure these birds out!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful captures!

My Critter

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenn. Love your owls! Tricky tracking. Nice work. I have to move the computer screen closer or blow up the pictures. Can't see my typos. But anyway, I look forward to more, owls or hawks either one. And your fish, too!

Brian King said...

How cool! Love your flight shots, Jenn!