Thursday, August 6, 2015

SD Raptors

Quite a nice assortment of raptors in SD right now.  Thanks to my dad for taking me around to find them!
Female American kestrel.  Very typical.  Pic
is of of the bird flying away. 

Wow - this little male did not move at all!


Holy moly - this was amazing!  Ferruginous
hawk - just chill. 

What a beast!

Red-tail flying - check out the molt pattern
in the tail.

Pretty bird! Landed so you can see part of that
odd molt.

Swainson's everywhere. 


Check out how long the wingtips are -
almost even with the tail.
Prairie falcon with lunch!

Inspirational Thoughts from a Kingbird

I have to admit that one of my pet peeves are the inspirational posters with a random eagle on it.  Advice on success and pursuing your dreams is fine; eagles don't care, though. 

On a recent trip to SD, my dad and I came across a Ferruginous hawk - quite a find!  The bird was pretty chill for a while - until a Western Kingbird decided that for no reason whatsoever, other than he was a kingbird, that he should make the hawk move.  Probably the first time ever that I was a bit put out with a kingbird.  Although the experience did make me give props to the feisty little guys.

I had some fun with the inspirational quotes - enjoy!