birds of a feather

Birds of a feather do not always stick together. The typical "I am bigger than you are" bird feeder squabbles happen fairly regularly. Scolding for being too close to a nest one can't see -or- squawking "fill our feeders" reminders also happen. 

We have seen more unusual birdee interactions this past week. Walking in our woods, I watched a male Cardinal aggressively chase a Blue Jay away. An Oriole closely followed the action.

Ruffled feathers of Red, Blue, followed by Orange were first heard then sighted, not far overhead. I was glad they kept their squabble amongst themselves.

.................

On a semi-related note, Brad finally got our first crop hay baled. Without getting rained upon! Not for the lack of wishing he could bale earlier. Considering our weather, it was nothing short of a miracle. 104 large square bales left our property! A record for us. All sold to a repeat buyer. It sure feels good to see hay off our fields. You would be surprised how many people watch and share the status of neighboring fields. Along with their own (cough, cough Brad).

Brad raking hay (6.21.26)

While our hay was down drying, numerous crows and other critters were having their own hay-day. One particular Turkey Vulture kept swooping close to our house roof line. Over and over. It made me concerned. They soar over head regularly, but never come close. Perhaps something perished in the surrounding field.

field behind our house (20 secs)

The following day, a Turkey Vulture once again circled low. Swooping over our house. It flew close to Cierra. She gave the bird a big tail swoosh and glance. The bird landed elsewhere in the pasture. Perhaps Turkey Vultures speak horse. It briefly ate what I assume was undigested seed, before taking flight. It went back to doing the soaring they are so well know for. 

We both stopped what we were doing and watched the action in wonder from our deck.

I couldn't resist the unexpected photo opportunity. I hustled inside to grab my big camera. Of course it was packed away. No time to change settings. I shot the way it was set. Some of the action didn't turn out clear, but I did get a few images to share. Note to self; My tracking was off. I am rusty!

Turkey Vulture

Shortly after, a second large winged wonder joined the soaring vulture. 

It didn't take long to recognize it was a Red-tailed Hawk. 

These two spread their wings and shared the open sky nicely. They circled together, not far from us. Almost as if dancing, over the field shown in the video above. The field, not the dance.

Until a band of Crows half their size came out of nowhere and chased them away.

What an noisy aerial show that was!! Caught us by surprise. It happened so fast. I didn't even get a single shot fired off.

Red-tailed Hawk

I was reminded how long I waited for one of my favorite in-flight photos. Taken over a decade ago. Back when I was really into photography.

We lived near a rock quarry. For years, I watched what I believe was a juvenile Red-tailed hawk flying the same pattern over our house. Usually landing in a backyard tree. I couldn't tell you how many times I grabbed my camera and ran outside. Only to be disappointed. The hawk frequently saw me and flew away. I started to notice it would call out shortly after leaving the quarry. I listened and watched for it. A lot.

One fine day, I managed to be in the right place at the right time.

I first saw the hawk way off in the distance. Grabbed my camera and ran to stand where he could not see me. Camera pointed towards the sky. Standing on our deck. With baited breath. Listening for the hawk to approach. Waiting. Waiting. More waiting. I could not see the hawk, but I could hear him approaching. It was then, he crossed over our garage roof line. Saw me, locked eyes and for a brief second was suspended in air. I will never forget it. The look of surprise on that hawks face was priceless!!

Click!! Gotcha!!!