The three inmages above are: first, a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk. Gape at that gape for awhile. Our most handsome buteo according to many raptor watchers. Second, an immature Golden Eagle landing. Notice the calm demeanor of the nearby dabbling ducks. If htat were a Bald Eagle there would be panic and mass lift-off. Golden Eagle prefers land animal such as rabbit and ground squirrel. Third: if you were a vole or House Finch looking at this face you would be two seconds from oblivion. This is the glare of a Merlin, male of the columbaris columbarius subspecies, called either boreal or taiga. Allthese birds were seen by Peter Thiemann and I in the Klamath basin today.
Above: one of three Rough-legged Hawks we saw. More will be arriving in weeks to come.
Below is on eof nealry 100 Red-tailed Hawks we saw today.
We saw about Harrier but none were close enough for a good photo.
The only seated Bald Eagle we saw today.
Details from both ends of the Frruginous dark morph.
Ferruginous dark above, Ferruginous usual below:
Golden Eagle profile in flight:
Golden Eagle
Raptors: we saw nearly 150 today. Is that a rapture of raptors? A congress? A rally? Revelation? Revelry? Regiment? Rendezvous? Round-up? A hunt of raptors? Or a scan? A predation even? Or a preyer of raptors?
NOT JUST RAPTORS
We did find one male Eurasian Wigeon in a shallowly flooded field across the stateline (in Oregon) from the pumping station in California at 10242 Stateline Highway. It’s the dark headed figure just to the right of the left-hand gap:
Below: one of two Great Horned Owls at Intersection F on the Lower Klamath NWR Auto Tour Route in California:
More to Klamath Ciounty right now that mere birds. have a little aspenglow:
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