Mark Hancock caught a beautiful photo of a Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.
This is our most common Hawk. I love their call. You can hear it for yourself at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site using this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id/ac
Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Even though it's winter, we've been hearing birdsong on the Mendonoma Coast. Craig Tooley photographed this White-crowned Sparrow and is kindly allowing me to share his photo with you here. This Sparrow looks like he's quite a singer!
To see more of Craig's wonderful nature photos, here's the link to his web site: http://ruffimage.com/
And to hear the sound of this bird, here the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/white-crowned_sparrow/sounds/ac
Jim Garlock photographed a beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus, sitting on a tree branch on The Sea Ranch recently. This Hawk lives in forests near water in California and the East. They eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and crayfish. Perhaps Jim's hawk is looking for a nice fat mouse.
Here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to hear what this hawk sounds like: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/sounds/ac
Thanks to Jim for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Cooper's Hawks, Accipiter cooperii, move into the Mendonoma Coast in the autumn and over-winter here. They are a little smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk and can be identified in the air by their flap-flap-glide motion. They are amazing, agile fliers. They hunt small birds. Sometimes one will show up near a bird feeder. That's the time to take down the bird feeder so the Cooper's Hawk isn't given a free lunch.
Hal Fogel recently photographed this immature Cooper's Hawk. If it were an adult it would be blue-gray on top instead of brown. Many thanks to Hal for allowing me to share his photo with you!
Craig Tooley recently photographed a lovely Song Sparrow. They are found across the United States but those in the Pacific Northwest look a bit different from their Eastern counterparts. It fills the air with its lilting song.
To hear the Song Sparrow's call, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_sparrow/sounds
Thanks to Craig for allowing me to show his photo here. To see more of Craig's work, here's a link to his web site: http://web.me.com/theruffians1