Although the large number of Great Blue Herons was the first thing that caught my attention at Ridgefield Tuesday, the more I drove around the more I noticed how many raptors there were, particularly Red-Tailed hawks.
The first one I shot grabbed my attention because of the glow of the winter sun reflecting off his feathers and tail:
Of course, it was hard to ignore this Red-Tailed Hawk sitting mere feet away from the road, apparently oblivious, if downright disdainful of humans sitting in their cars:
But there was also a considerable number of Red-Tailed Hawks sitting in the open fields.
And if you looked hard enough, you could even find a Northern Harrier or two, or three.
The combination of sunshine and hawks is exquisite. A few days ago, I noticed a solitary hawk perched on a tree across Scudder Pond but was unable to identify it from that distance
I was once told that red-tail hawks have a territorial range of 2 miles. Thus, if you are driving along a road and see a hawk on a telephone pole, chances are that 2 miles later you will see another — and another — and another. More often than not, it seems to work.
The one bird that seemed indifferent to the cars and people is probably a youngling. Interestingly enough, the birds aren’t wary of humans until after reaching full adulthood.
Lovely, aren’t they?
The hawk who used to live here on our cul-de-sac got married and moved away. I am sad not to see his immense shadow over my backyard and deck.