Raptors' Day

Today was a strange day. First it snowed in the morning. But by noon, most of the snow was gone. Maybe that's not so strange. Who knows for sure anymore nowdays. I have come to expect the unexpected when it comes to weather here in the Lower Mainland.

Anyways, I managed to get decent photos of the 3 birds of prey species that are fairly common here in West Richmond - Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, and Red-tailed Hawk.

First up was a Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus). It was circling right in front of me and kept landing on an area full of cattails. I took several photos of it flying, but only this one turned decent enough for me to put on my Flickr - since this is the only one with a clear, semi-focused view of the harrier's beautiful owl-like face.

Next was a lone Bald Eagle waiting for its mate again. I don't think I will ever get tired of looking at these beautiful birds or taking their pictures.

Finally, in the Terra Nova Natural Area, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a tree. Having the experience of scaring it off too quickly before getting decent photos, I approached it slowly. Then a couple behind me walked past me, so I got ready to take these take-off pictures.

I merged two photos together to get this two-step sequence picture.

The Red-tailed Hawk didn't fly too far away and landed on a usual telephone pole.

Not sure what it was looking at.

But then a huge flock of Snow Geese flew right over us and that certainly got the hawk's attention.

Red-tailed Hawk looking at the Snow Geese.

That's basically what I saw today. My fingers were close to falling off due to the coldness - even though I had gloves on. It was getting too cold so I went back home early.

Sky-watch photo of the day. It was quite beautiful despite the coldness.
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