SD birds

In a few days, fall semester starts, football season will be officially going, as well as the usual raptors and other bird-y things that take up much of my time.  Posting some SD pics here. 

First up - Eastern Kingbird family.

Grasshopper Sparrow - posing nicely!

Marsh Wren - easy to draw out with a few clicks of your tongue.

Prairie falcon - ooohh, la-la!

Young Swainson's hawk  - with parent circling overhead.

Western kingbirds - fantastic and very vocal.

Young Red tails

Young birds are everywhere, it seems.  This young red-tailed hawk had no problem flying about four feet above my head towards his intended perch on this house in the first series of pics. 

In the next two, a friend and I watched another young hawk determine his best route to the furry dinner below the tree.

And on the Other Side of the Metro - Green Heron!

About 20 miles north of the park that I found the last green heron I posted on - was another green heron!  This bird was also fairly occupied with hunting.  The choice of perch was a little harder to get to.  Reminds me of finding your seat in a stadium!

22 Minutes in the Life of a Green Heron

Nice little treat to run into a green heron, who could not have been less interested in me.  Usually they activate the "freak out" gene and you don't get much.  This bird had quite a few reactions to its environment; I think there was another heron (I heard one, anyway) who might have been flying over/around.  (I was trying to be hidden, so couldn't see around me.)  The bird also got lucky on a fishing attempt.  It was neat to see how the pupils dialated on the bird as it got ready to strike, and for a few seconds after it had its fish.