Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Buteo

Taken on 16 June 2014, on a dull, rainy afternoon. I had a late afternoon physiotherapy session (shoulder and back), and had already decided that I would go for a short drive SW of the city straight afterwards, no matter what the weather. Well, dark clouds filled the sky and part way there, the rain started. This beautiful Swainson's Hawk was sitting on a high fence that ran along an embankment on that side of the road. On a sunny day, it would have been perfect conditions, but, grainy photos are better than nothing, especially as this bird of prey was all that I saw to photograph during the whole drive. The bird was little more than a dark silhouette, so needed a lot of brightening.

Taken late yesterday afternoon, in the rain. I had a late afternoon physiotherapy session (shoulder and back), and had already decided that I would go for a short drive SW of the city straight afterwards, no matter what the weather. Well, dark clouds filled the sky and part way there, the rain started. This beautiful Swainson's Hawk was sitting on a high fence that ran along the top of an embankment on the side of the road. On a sunny day, it would have been perfect, but, grainy photos are better than nothing, especially as this bird of prey was all that I saw to photograph during the whole drive. The bird was little more than a dark silhouette, so needed brightening. At just after 7:00 a.m. this morning, it's still raining. I got up early, hoping to meet up with friends for one last bird walk, but I just don't feel like getting soaked. I would only be able to manage a very short distance, anyway, thanks to an extremely painful back, so I might just climb back into bed instead .... sigh. Almost one year ago to the day of southern Alberta's devastating Flood of the Century in June 2013, people are getting anxious about the amount of rain that has been falling and continues to fall. Most of the flooding concerns seem to be from just south of Calgary, especially in places like Pincher Creek. I guess we will all be finding out in the next while.

Took this photo of a beautiful Swainson's Hawk, NW of Calgary, on 15 June 2013. When I left Calgary, the weather was pleasant, but as I got nearer to my hoped-for destination, a massive, black cloud was hanging over the area. I did drive northwards on paved road, but turned around just before the hilly, gravel roads began. They are not good roads to drive on when it is, or has been, raining. Ten minutes later, on the return drive, I saw a white field that looked strangely out of place, lol. In just that short time, it had hailed heavily over just that one huge field, piling up along the edge of the road, too. We do have some strange weather where I live, ha! Little did I know about the major flooding (Alberta's Flood of the Century) that was about to happen on 20 June! Passed this Hawk and presumably its mate, perched on nearby fenceposts. This one flew off after just one shot, but the other one gave me a chance for a few photos. Such spectacular birds of prey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson's_Hawk www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/swainsons_hawk/id Something is definitely wrong with Flickr this morning. I posted my "daily three" images almost four hours ago and it shows only a total of 10 views for the three photos together. Not one comment, which is highly unusual. I mention this only because it's obvious that Flickr is not working properly. Anyone else experiencing this? Just checked My Contacts' new photos and there are only photos uploaded by four people, so my photos are most likely not showing up on their pages, either! I guess that's another problem, sigh. 8 hours later - just got home, and found that there has been basically no activity on my photos from today. Just left a message on the Help Forum. Hey, Flickr - what's going on? Something needs fixing! Please ...

The day before yesterday (25 January 2014), I spent an amazing day with friends Cathy and Terry, south of Calgary. I had found an e-mail on my computer around 12:45 a.m., just as I was about to turn off my computer for the night. Did I want to go birding tomorrow and, if so, to meet at 8:00 a.m.? A full day of excitement and enjoyment left me tired out, but so happy. I had been missing being out and taking photos, feeling lethargic and extremely tired, so this invite was welcomed with open arms. The crazy weather soared to a balmy 11C, though a lot of the day was colder, with a strong wind! Along one of the roads, we came across this Rough-legged Hawk (?) that was perched on one of the huge power pylons. Can you believe that we saw 17 owls? SEVENTEEN! I didn't photograph quite every single one, but my friends will let me know exactly how many of each owl we found, once they've gone through their photos. It was something like 10 Snowy Owls and 7 Great Horned Owls. The closest Snowy Owl was seen when it was early evening and the light had gone, and my photos are all blurry. The other owls were little more than a tiny speck in the far, far distance, but I still managed to get some kind of shot of some of them, using 48x zoom plus cropping. Perhaps I should add that maybe 16 of the owls that were seen would never have been seen by less experienced birders (and I include myself in that category!). My friends have brilliant eyes when it comes to spotting owls! Just left me shaking my head each time they found one! I'm not too bad at finding owls, but not at that distance!

I'm not too good at identifying Hawks, but I'm guessing that this one is Swainsons's Hawk? Would appreciate it if someone could correct me if I'm wrong - thanks! Saw this one on 15 June 2013, NW of Calgary. Just checked my old folder and there were two Hawks perched just a few fence posts apart and the other one stayed for a short while, but the one in this photo flew off before I could get more than just this one quick shot. "This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the Grasshopper Hawk or Locust Hawk, as it is very fond of Acrididae (locusts and grasshoppers) and will voraciously eat these insects whenever they are available. Their breeding habitat is prairie and dry grasslands in western North America. They build a stick nest in a tree or shrub or on a cliff edge. This species is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Argentina; there is a single record of a vagrant from Norway. There are two main color variations. Over 90% of individuals are light-morph; the dark morph is most common in the far west of the range." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson's_Hawk www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/swainsons_hawk/id

You'd laugh if you knew just how far away this hawk really was! I so rarely even bother to try and get birds in flight, but I think this image is just about fit to add to my Birds of Alberta set : ) Taken on 23 September 2012, when I was still within city limits on the south west edge of the city. I was trying to get a few shots of combine harvesters (or similar) and there must have been about a dozen of these hawks circling way, way overhead. I got in and out of my pulled-over car endless times - somehow, every time I got out, the Hawks would fly even further away. By the time I had got myself settled back in my vehicle, I'd glance upwards and find that the raptors were now that much closer, ha.

This rather fine Swainson's Hawk (juvenile) flew on to the roof at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary yesterday morning, when I went with a group of friends for a morning walk. I don't go to this area very often, partly because it just seems like too far to drive and I never used to see much, if anything, when I used to go on my own. However, we saw several birds close enough to photograph yesterday, though heavy cropping was necessary for most of them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swainson's_Hawk

I don't "do" in-flight shots, except on the very rare occasion : ) This Hawk was so far away, and I was curious as to what kind it was, so took a couple of quick shots for ID. Full zoom and very heavy cropping showed me that this was a Red-tailed Hawk. I'm really weak on Hawk ID, so my purpose for posting this shot is that maybe, just maybe, I will eventually remember the underwing markings of this species. It hasn't worked yet, but there's always hope, ha. Photographed two days ago along one of the backroads south of Highway 22X. "Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are Red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. The feathers and other parts of the Red-tailed Hawk are considered sacred to many American indigenous people and, like the feathers of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, are sometimes used in religious ceremonies and found adorning the regalia of many Native Americans in the United States; these parts, most especially their distinctive tail feathers, are a popular item in the Native American community". From Wikipedia. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk

Taken from the back passenger side seat,on the far side of the road to where this beautiful Rough-legged Hawk was perched : ). Definitely cropped, but I was still happy to get it : ). This was seen on Sunday, while doing a Christmas Bird Count in the Nanton area, south of Calgary.