Raptors

I attended a Raptor Awareness Festival today,but the only birds I saw there were ones which are in captivity for a variety of reasons.It is a good opportunity to see these magnificent birds up close.

This beautiful Peregrine Falcon posed so perfectly while I took her picture. Just look at the details in her feathers and then to think that this bird is one of the fastest fliers in the avian world. This bird or at least one like it can each speeds of up to 322kph/200mph in a dive. This makes it the fastest member of the animal kingdom,this according to wikipedia.

Since the wild birds were not flying at the festival,I took the long way round to go home and went through the Pembina Valley to check on the Hawkwatch there. Even before I got to the watch site,I saw Bald Eagles feeding on a carcass on the field.These are two juveniles.

When I got to the watch site,I was told that birding was very slow,but I guess they were waiting for me to arrive. Shortly after getting there a number of Red-tailed Hawks came over.

This picture and the one above are the same bird,but I think they are so beautiful,even under an overcast sky and a few snowflakes coming down.

On my way out of the valley,I spied at least four Eastern Bluebirds.They were not very cooperative but I managed this shot of two sitting on a fence. If the sun had been out their colour would stand out so much better.

Watching these birds gives me so much pleasure. I feel a calmness when I am out there observing God's creation in the wild.