One week ago, on Wednesday, 20 July 2022, I was out for another ride up to the Northeast Swale (via the Chief Mistawasis Bridge), and stopped at the little wetland east of the bridge where I have spotted SO MANY of the birds I've seen this year. I was taking some pictures of American Coot babies when I was startled by a loud SCREECH Just above me - looking up I spotted a hawk on the power pole just above me! I'm not sure if it had just flown up or I had just not noticed it before?
Swainson's Hawk in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon 2022 Sketchbook - Volume Two!
When I went to take a picture it flew off.
It was a really windy day.
So it didn't get very far with flying.
And, as it stayed rather still in the air, I actually got a few decent shots of it flying!
I think it got bored or tired of trying to make any sort of headway into that wind, so it landed on the very next pole and I was able to walk over and click a few more pictures!
and with this... I am ALL CAUGHT UP!!
I do have some other projects I want to work on to keep me busy between bird sightings. I expect they will be fewer and far between now that the migration rush is all over. I expect I'll see a few new ones as they head back south in the fall. There are a few other hawks that summer here that I haven't seen - or at least positively IDed.
Oh, these were the baby Coots I was taking pictures of when the Hawk started screeching! Maybe they're not so much babies anymore... more like adolescents, learning sarcasm and refusing to eat anything nutritious...
Ha! Adolescent coots! (reminds me of the phrase "old coot" to refer to a cranky old man)
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your raptor series, and I would say this Swainson's hawk is one of your best bird paintings yet!
More nice photos, too.
Thank you so much!
DeleteI am actually pretty happy with how this one turned out, too!
Maybe I AM learning something doing all this!