I'm with you Mary. I love the songbirds but I also love the raptors. They are so magnificent.

I have seen both the Bald Eagle & the Golden Eagle close up as well as high in the air & after seeing both I often wonder why the Bald Eagle was chosen over the Golden Eagle as our National Symbol. I think they are both breathtaking but the Golden is so much more stunning. More EVERYTHING.

Thanks! I was hoping you'd see this. How cool that we both love raptors

Nice! Do you know what kind of hawk it is?

We have several kinds here. Several times we have watched Sharp Shinned hawks diving though a bush, or the rail fence, to grab a little bird. They are amazingly agile, folding their wings tightly against their bodies and zipping around like little bullets! A couple of weeks ago we watched one of those life and death dramas, with the little bird diving between the fence rails, looping back through the spaces several times, the hawk matching his every move. And after the hawk caught the little bird, another Sharp Shinned Hawk tried to take it from him.

I'm pretty sure it's a red-shouldered, but I'm not an expert

Red Shouldered Hawk


https://www.google.com/search?...

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

That was my guess from the photo in my bird book. Often their photo angle doesn't show enough detail for a positive ID.

You're right Mary. I find the same frustration. OR find that you can have 3 diff. bird ID books & the same bird will look almost like a whole diff. bird in each book.
And I like ones that show them flying above you --- GEE --- that's how we most often see the raptors.

Agreed!