Ridgefield NWR 12-06-10

I went up to Ridgefield yesterday afternoon to enjoy the rain-free weather... I didn't see a ton of birds, but had a few good ones...

Sandhill Cranes...


Next up, a Red-tailed Hawk with an afternoon meal...


I've been trying to figure out just what he had in his bloody talons but I'm not sure.  All I can tell for sure is that it's a bird.. He eventually turned around and flew off with it.



In the stretch of road along the southeast side of Rest Lake there was no shortage of American Bitterns...



And lastly, a Northern Harrier popped out of who-knows-where to cruise the evening sky (oh wait, I mean the 3:45 in the afternoon in December sky!)


Good birds!

Comments

  1. Great shot of the Hawk, especially #3. The Bitterns are good too. Boom & Gary of The vermilon River.

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  2. These are especially good shots, Jen.

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  3. Great Bittern shots Jen - our Bitterns are very secretive. The red tail seems to have caught something pretty big - not difficult for such a large, strong bird of prey as shown by your photograph.

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  4. This is a wonderful series of photos, every one - maybe the best and most consistently eye catching that you have posted. Good work!!, esp on the hawk and bittern.

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  5. Good birds, GREAT photos! I keep trying to creep up on cranes in the field. They have the most amazing ability to keep the same distance from me at all times, en masse, without appearing to move.

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  6. Wonderful group of shots Jen! The bittern shots are quite spectacular. I also enjoyed the hawk shot with prey--super! All good stuff!

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  7. Amazing shot of the Bittern! I've yet to get that close. I will perservere. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. You got some super shots of that hawk, he had a grasp on that meal for sure...Great sneaky shot of the bittern too so they are hard to spot against that brown vegatation --I really like the flight shot too you can see how aerodynamic that guy is!! Good Stuff!!

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  9. Nice shots Jen! I took a long lunch today and drove the auto tour. Saw a lot of Red-tails and Bitterns like you.

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