Birds and Nature

This is the Zone-tailed Hawk I found this afternoon in Caballo State Park in New Mexico. If you look close at it's feet it has some prey in it's talons. It looks like it is a squirrel whose head has already been eaten partially. Given the look this hawk is giving me as shown in the bottom pic, and how it's nape feathers are erect as shown well in the middle pic, I have the impression it is letting me know that it is going to keep that prey. SeEtta

This afternoon I stopped at Caballo State Park just south of Truth-and-Consequence, New Mexico for a break in my drive back home to Colorado. I found this Zone-tailed Hawk and it had some prey in it's talons (see photos in next post for closer view). As the hawk flew off it grasped that prey tightly in it's talons and it is visible in the top and bottom pics (may need to click on each photo to enlarge for better viewing). Wouldn't you know that my sharpest photo is the middle pic that only shows half of the hawk as it is flying away. SeEtta