A great day for hawks

It was another sunny morning at the Mercer Meadows Pole
Farm, and my friend Andy and I set off for adventure about 7:20 a.m. I’ve been in a hawk drought of late, having seen just one red-tailed hawk a few days ago but otherwise having gone weeks without seeing any, let alone another variety.

That would soon change. After traipsing along our usual route out to the old AT&T Building One site where, tricked by some blanching on a tree, I temporarily thought I’d spotted the great horned owl we’d seen the other day. We walked a bit farther, finally spotting a single common yellowthroat after hearing several, and then reversed our route.

Andy was walking slightly ahead of me as we emerged from the AT&T oval and suddenly he stopped and pointed. Straight ahead, perched openly on a tree branch was a Cooper’s hawk, its striped white chest and banded tail clearly on display.

The hawk posed long enough for us each to take several shots, and as I moved forward for a better angle, the bird flew off. Neither of us captured that moment, alas. But another hawk encounter was soon to come.

We went down the trail toward the parking lot, hoping to spot one of the American kestrels that have been nesting in the big red barn at the parking lot. One was perched in the hole near the peak of the roof, and Andy and I moved in closer to take several shots. I turned toward my car and missed a chance to catch the kestrel leave the barn. Andy missed it, too.

Then, unexpectedly, I saw a big, dark bird fly into the large tree nearest to the trailhead at the end of the parking lot. Hawk, I thought — no, wait, it’s big and has a huge beak — immature bald eagle. Actually, it was a red-tailed hawk, as my photos would clearly prove.

The hawk flew out of the tree, chased by a blackbird or two, then reversed direction and flew low over the field straight back to the tree. I took several blurry shots but got the one topping the post, one of the best airborne bird shots I’ve ever taken.

The hawk stuck around as Andy and I reached our cars, and then it flew into another nearby tree. Andy and I snapped off some more images. The gallery below shows the highlights from both trees. What an exceptional day!