The labeling of birds confounds me. Come to find out, this late in life for me, not only do birds’ colors and markings differ with age (juvenile to adult) and gender, but they differ by season, and within species. The red-tailed hawk is one of the easiest birds to identify – when the red tail is apparent, as in the photo above. But the bird can also present as a ghostly white, as in the photo below, which shows the adult light morph.
All the photos in this post were taken within a ten minute time frame and of two birds that were occupying the same sky space (along with two others that were at a higher altitude.) One of the birds, the one pictured below, was significantly larger than the other and arrived on the scene flying low over the line of tree tops on the far side of the pond.
Please click on the image above to see the gorgeous posture and attitude of this bird. (Use your back arrow to return to the post.)
This winter, the absence of birds has been remarkable. There has been an eerie silence in the air, day after day. But this afternoon, I saw these hawks (and the stoic and reliable American robin – click to visit my photo site, The Ripest Pics, where I shared a wonderful photo of an American robin that I took today.) It was a thrill to see these birds and to think that maybe spring is finally coming.
My hope is that these photos foretell of wonderful season of bird sightings and great shots. I felt today as if my camera, nature, and I were in sync.
This red-tailed hawk even maneuvered in a way to show me its back-side, which is quite a contrast to its light underbelly.
SilverLining 