Birds and Nature

I found this light morph Ferruginous Hawk in Pueblo County. This species is listed as 'Special Concern' in Colorado so I always enjoy seeing one of them. SeEtta

This morning I spotted this single Sandhill Crane in a cut hay field on the east edge of Canon City. We do usually get some of these migrating cranes stopping over to rest and feed but usually they are several and usually not this late in November. This crane was several hundred feet away and actively feeding, but it would come to attention when it heard the gunshots that sounded fairly close (within a half mile or so). When I drove further to look for other cranes-none found-it flew off and I did not see it again. SeEtta

Since last week when I spotted at least 3 Golden Eagles flying together I have been seeing Golden Eagles all around eastern Fremont and Custer Counties. Day before yesterday I saw a likely juvenile flying high above Red Canyon Park north of Canon City. Today I saw an adult flying around the Wetmore area before I found this likely adult perched on a power pole. And just a little west of Wetmore I spotted this 2nd year (white at base of tail but no white spots on wings) Golden Eagle in flight. SeEtta

Yesterday I spotted 4 large raptors above a canyon in which I was driving. By the time I found a safe place to pull over I missed identifying one of the raptors though I believe it was also a Golden Eagle like the others I observed. In the top photo an adult Golden Eagle flies with it's legs in the down position as it is holding some prey (click on that image to enlarge it for better viewing) The next 3 pics are also of an adult Golden Eagle. Two of the Golden Eagles I was able to id and age were adults. At least one of the raptors was the juvenile Golden Eagle in the pic below. Two of the Golden Eagles, an adult and a juvenile, perched near each other on an escarpment for a period of time--this would indicate that the juvenile was the offspring of a pair of Golden Eagles. Birds of North America online indicates that young Golden Eagles can stay with their parents from 1-6 months. SeEtta