Hawks, Eagles and Kites

Mississippi Kite - The Blue Hole, NM Picture
Mississippi Kite - The Blue Hole, NM
Swainson's Hawk - Silverwing Golf Course, AB Overseeing his part of the world was important on that evening. There was a great deal of calling and general noise making to a mate near by. Raptors, especially the broad-winged type hawks are hard to tell apart from a distance when they are sitting on poles. One way I use to identify these birds is, the very distinct white bib below the beak, followed by confirming they don't have a red tail. This photo was taken on the east side of the Calgary Airport near Silverwings Golf Course. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Swainson's Hawk - Silverwing Golf Course, AB
Bald Eagle - Kalamalka Lake, BC One of our most iconic birds, the Bald Eagle is a true comeback story. With only 417 breeding pairs left in the lower 48 from an original number of 300,000 individuals, an effort in 1963 was born to ensure this majestic bird did not disappear from the skies. DDT was found to be the culprit causing egg shells to be so thin, the sitting parents would break the eggs. Today the birds are back to totals of over 170,000 individuals. This gorgeous specimen has a mate and nest on Kalamaka Lake, BC. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Bald Eagle - Kalamalka Lake, BC
Swainson's Hawk - Pincher Creek, AB I always love the prairies for the raptors and this Juvenile Swainson's Hawk is no different. Along a farm road in Pincher Creek, we met including his sibling who was on the fence post over. They must have been waiting to be fed as they were calling in the typical begging voice when I first showed up. Michael W Klotz 2019 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Swainson's Hawk - Pincher Creek, AB
Cooper's Hawk - Burnaby Lake, BC This hawk is part of what is called the Accipiter family. These are the agile long-tailed hawks that are good at hunting in the forest. The two smallest being Cooper's hawk, above, and the Sharp-shinned hawk They are the topic of many bird blogs because they are so hard to tell apart. Please click here to see a very good comparison between the two. Michael W Klotz 2021 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Cooper's Hawk - Burnaby Lake, BC
Rough-legged Hawk - Brunswick Point, BC One of our winter visitors is a hawk that spends its summers in the arctic circle. The light head with the stripe through the eye and the broad chocolate band on the lower chest are good indicators you are not looking at a Red-tailed hawk. They also hover over their prey, unlike their red-tailed cousins. Brunswick Point along the pathway was where this bird was perched in a cottonwood enjoying the fall sun. Michael W Klotz 2020 - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Rough-legged Hawk - Brunswick Point, BC
Bald Eagle - Delta, BC Golden hour is that hour in the morning or evening when the sun's light is travelling through our atmosphere differently than when it is directly overhead. That golden hue is from the light being bent while travelling through the atmosphere from a low angle. We are very fortunate her to have massive numbers of Eagles overwinter on the coast. This adult is at least 4 or 5 years old as that is when the mature white feathers are present on the head and tail. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Bald Eagle - Delta, BC
Rough-legged Hawk - Delta, BC During a tour with a father/daughter combination, we ran into a northern winter visitor using the windrow of short trees to hunt the fringes of the farm fields. This raptor likes to be close to the ground when hunting and can typically be seen hovering above its prey. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Rough-legged Hawk - Delta, BC
Swainson's Hawk - Glenmore, BC Picture
Swainson's Hawk - Glenmore, BC