Category Archives: Birds of Prey

Cutest Bird of the Year

Birds of Prey, Musings & News, Travel
Burrowing owl, Imperial County, CA (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

20 February 2022, San Diego Bird Festival, Big Day across the county

In more than a decade of choosing an annual ABA Bird of the Year, this year’s choice, the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), has the most personality. It’s hard to look at one posing near it’s burrow without seeing its defiant and endearing stance.

The owls, of course, take themselves seriously, choosing a mate, finding an appropriate prairie dog, ground squirrel or man-made burrow to nest in, and raising a family.

Burrowing owls at man-made nest near Salton Sea (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The owls have had recent success in Imperial County, California where many of these photos were taken. Unfortunately by 2019 their population in nearby San Diego County was down to 75 pairs due to habitat loss and destruction of the ground squirrels whose holes the birds rely on.

In 2020 researchers began to turn that around by releasing eight young owls at Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. In the winter of 2020-2021, 24 pairs were reintroduced to man-made burrows at Ramona Grasslands Preserve. This winter they plan to reintroduce several more. The hope is that the young birds raised at Ramona will return to their birthplace to nest.

Ramona grasslands, San Diego County (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Read more about burrowing owls in San Diego County at San Diego Burrowing Owls get new homes.

If you want to see great photos every day of the cutest Bird of the Year, follow Wendy @geococcyxcal on Twitter.

They are so photogenic!

UPDATE 21 Feb 2022: Did not see a burrowing owl on this trip.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

Hays Has An Egg

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Female bald eagle examines her 1st egg of 2022 at the Hays nest, 11 Feb 2022 (screenshot from PixCam’s Hays Bald Eagle Live Stream)

13 February 2022

In case you missed it …

The female bald eagle at Hays in the City of Pittsburgh, laid her first egg of the season half an hour after sunset on Friday, 11 February 2022 at 6:22pm. As soon as the egg was dry she began incubation.

Her mate roosted nearby and waited for dawn to see the egg and trade places with her. It takes 35 days of continuous incubation before the egg will be ready to hatch.

The Hays female usually lays several eggs, each one 2-3 days apart.

Incubation at the Hays bald eagle nest, 12 Feb 2022, 11:11a, (screenshot from PixCam’s Hays Bald Eagle Live Stream)

Watch for the second egg to arrive today or tomorrow on PixCam’s Hays Bald Eagle Camera Live Stream.

p.s. Another bald eagle pair is on camera at U.S.Steel’s Irvin Works, 5.3 miles away. See them Live on PixCams’ U. S. Steel Bald Eagle Camera.

Distance between Hays and Irvin eagles’ nests in Allegheny County (map generated from gmap-pedometer.com)

(screenshots and video from PixCams, map annotated from gmap-pedometer; click on the captions to see the originals)

A Few Raptors Draw Attention

Birds of Prey
Snowy owl perched on Ceres statue, Union Station, Washington DC, 19 Jan 2022 (photo by Angela N via Flickr Creative Commons license)

8 February 2022

Some raptors draw attention if you know where to look.

This winter a snowy owl has been hanging out at Union Station in Washington, DC often perching on the Ceres statue (above) in Louis Saint-Gaudens’ Progress of Railroading series. (Ceres is indicated by arrow below.)

Progress of Railroading statues by Louis Saint-Gaudens, Union Station, Washington, DC, Jan 2011 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Angela N has been photographing the owl since 13 January and found it in a very photogenic pose last Wednesday.

Snowy owl at Union Station, Washington, DC, 2 Feb 2022 (photo by Angela N via Flickr Creative Commons license)

Meanwhile, back in Pittsburgh, a peregrine falcon drew attention in late January at Duck Hollow when it harassed a bald eagle on 29 January, captured by Joe Fedor.

Peregrine falcon chasing bald eagle at Duck Hollow, 29 Jan 2022 (photo by Joe Fedor)
Peregrine falcon (top) chasing bald eagle at Duck Hollow, 29 Jan 2022 (photo by Joe Fedor)

And harassed the gulls on 30 January, captured by Stephen Bucklin.

Peregrine falcon harassing ring-billed gulls at Duck Hollow, 30 Jan 2022 (photo by Stephen Bucklin)
Peregrine falcon harassing ring-billed gulls at Duck Hollow, 30 Jan 2022 (photo by Stephen Bucklin)

In both cases we can tell it’s a peregrine because of its sickle shape and pointed wings. In the gull photos it has the same wingspan as the ring-billed gulls.

It’s nice to have photos of the birds that draw attention.

(photos by Angela N via Flickr Creative Commons license; click on the captions to see the originals, and by Joe Fedor, Jr, and Stephen Bucklin)

Looking at the Tops of Things

Birds of Prey, Schenley Park
Sunset at Schenley Park golf course, 25 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

29 January 2022

When the clouds broke up Tuesday afternoon I walked to Schenley Park for a beautiful sunset with a plan to look at the tops of the things.

If I’m lucky, in winter I find as many as three merlins perched at the tops of bare trees half an hour before sunset.

The merlins don’t watch the sky. Instead they focus on potential prey, the small birds that roost in the conifers and bushes between Holes 1, 17 and 18.

On Tuesday I found two merlins: one on a dead snag, the other in the top branches of the tallest tree across the fairway, but he was too hidden for a cellphone photo. (Click on the photo to see a circle around the first merlin.)

Merlin at Schenley Park golf course, 25 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

While looking at the tops of things, I found a pair of red-tailed hawks on a parking lot light last Saturday, silhouetted against the sky. This was not a very tall pole but the red-tails felt comfortable that no one was paying attention while one of them ate a squirrel.

Red-tailed hawks at CMU Morewood Gardens parking lot, 22 Jan 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

You might find something fun if you Keep Looking Up.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Eagles Fight For Fish

Birds of Prey
Steller’s sea eagle and golden eagle fight at Lake Kuril, Russia (screenshot from YouTube video)

28 January 2022

Speaking of Steller’s sea eagles yet again …

Like their bald eagle relatives, Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) migrate to open water for the winter where they hang out in large groups near abundant fish. The Steller’s sea eagle in Maine is the only one on this continent so we can’t see his behavior among friends and competitors but there is plenty to see in his native range of Far Eastern Russia and northern Japan.

The link below shows tussling between Steller’s sea eagles and a fight with a golden eagle, an unrelated and much smaller bird. It happened at a crater lake in Kamchatka, Russia.

Eagles Fight in Russian Winter

p.s. News as of 27 January 2021: Maine’s Stellers sea eagle was last seen on 24 January 2021. No one knows where he went … yet.

Sea Eagles’ Banquet on Ice

Birds of Prey, Weather & Sky
White-tailed eagle, Hokkaido, Japan (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

18 January 2022

On the recurring subject of sea eagles …

The Steller’s sea eagle in Maine was still near Boothbay Harbor on Tuesday 18 January 2022, as reported by @WanderingSTSE. The bird is 7,000 miles away from his native range and the only member of his species on the continent. What would his life be like if he was at home?

Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) breed in Far Eastern Russia and migrate south for the winter but they don’t leave cold weather behind. One of their favorite winter locations is Hokkaido, Japan where floating ice provides a platform from which to fish. (Blue arrow points to Hokkaido.)

Steller’s sea eagle and range map (orange=breeding only, green=year round, blue=winter only) (images from Wikimedia Commons)

They are joined there by a smaller sea eagle, the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) of Europe, Asia and western Greenland. White-tailed eagles are very similar to their closest relative, the bald eagle. All three are sea eagles in the genus Haliaeetus.

White-tailed eagle (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

At Hokkaido the sea eagles have a daily banquet on the ice.

p.s. 18 Jan 2022 UPDATE on the Steller’s sea eagle in Maine:

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, video by John Russell embedded from YouTube; click on the captions to see the originals)

Where is The Sea Eagle?

Birds of Prey, Migration
Steller’s sea eagle in Hokkaido, Japan, its native range (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

11 January 2022

When a bird is extremely rare, very large, nomadic, and easily recognizable it quickly becomes a celebrity. There is only one wild Steller’s sea eagle in North America(*) and wherever he goes birders flock to see him. He lingers sometimes then leaves for parts unknown. Every day the question is, Where is The Steller’s sea eagle?

Closely related to bald eagles, Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) are the largest eagle on earth weighing up to 20 pounds with a wingspan as much as 8 feet. They breed on the coast of Far Eastern Russia and winter on the coasts of Russia and Japan.

The total population of Steller’s sea eagles is only 5,000 and they are declining. One has come to North America. Here’s his story so far.

History of the bird as of 23 Dec 2021 when last seen in Massachusetts:

Video of the bird in Maine on 31 Dec 2021:

Photographed in Maine on 8 Jan 2022 by Erin @ourtravelintale:

As of 9 January the sea eagle was last seen flying away near the bridge at Southport, Maine. Today everyone’s asking “Where is The sea eagle?”

Track his Maine locations via Maine Audubon’s Rare Bird Alert Steller’s Sea Eagle or at https://linktr.ee/StellersSeaEagle or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/WanderingSTSE.

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, 300 miles from the nearest ocean, I will probably never see this bird. I can imagine the disappointment and expense of spending a day or two flying or driving to the sea eagle’s last known location and arriving after it had left. Sigh.

UPDATE 8 December 2022: The Steller’s sea eagle is still in North America, last seen in New Brunswick, Canada on 27 Nov 2022.

(*) The closest we come to a Steller’s sea eagle in Pittsburgh is at the National Aviary. Their sea eagle, Kodiak, escaped on 25 September 2021 and was captured on 3 October. For eight days the National Aviary was definitely asking “Where’s The Sea Eagle?”

(photo of sea eagle in Japan from Wikimedia Commons; videos, tweets and Instagram embedded from original sources)

Small Saw-whet Swallows a Mouse

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey
Northern saw-whet owl at banding, 26 Oct 2016 (photo by Donna Foyle)

7 January 2022

Northern saw-whet owls (Aegolius acadicus) are so small that they’re held in one hand at banding. Nonetheless they’re fierce predators of small rodents and frightening to songbirds.

The chickadees go nuts when a saw-whet swallows a mouse in this video by Laura @ABBestphotos from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

(photo by Donna Foyle, video tweet embedded from @ABBestphotos )

Protected By The Queen In 1392

Birds of Prey
Eleonora’s falcon in flight (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

29 December 2021

In 1392 Queen Eleanor of Arborea (west-central Sardinia) was the first ruler in history to grant protection to hawk and falcon nests against illegal hunters. A falcon species that nests on Sardinia was named in her honor — Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae).

Eleonora’s falcon looks like a small slender peregrine falcon with long pointed wings, long tail and slim body. From below in flight it looks different from a peregrine whose underwings are completely striped (click here for a peregrine in flight). Instead it has the color pattern of a turkey vulture with dark wing linings and gray flight feathers (click here for a turkey vulture).

We will never see an Eleonora’s falcon in North America because they nest only on islands in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Tunisia. All of them spend the winter in Madagascar but no one knew how they got there until satellite tracking revealed that some fly through the heart of Africa.

Migration routes of Eleonora’s falcon (map from Wikimedia Commons)

See a video of nesting Eleonora’s falcons and read about Queen Eleanor who gave women inheritance rights and set an unusual punishment for rapists.

The Falcon Of The Queen

Eleanora

Watch Eaglets on Camera at Hilton Head

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship

27 December 2021

Pittsburgh’s bald eagles will lay eggs in February while in South Carolina it’s already eaglet time. The bald eagle pair on the Hilton Head Land Trust eaglecam hatched their first egg of the season on 26 December 2021 at 12:45pm.

Bald eagles in northern latitudes synchronize their nesting period to hatch in early spring while in southern latitudes, including Florida and the Gulf Coast, they have a prolonged nesting period from late fall to early spring. In the South, bald eagles can afford to nest earlier because there is no winter ice to prevent them from catching fish for their young.

Get a head start on eagle season. You can watch eaglets right now at –> Hilton Head Land Trust Bald Eaglecam

(screenshot from Hilton Head Land Trust eaglecam)