Redtails at Ridgefield

Hawks On A Stick

It’s not uncommon to see hawks perched on the many signposts around the auto tour at Ridgefield — what I like to call hawks on a stick. Harriers and kestrels are pretty skittish and won’t stay perched, but young redtails will sometimes allow a closer examination. I especially like unusual poses, and preening is a great time as the hawks stretch and grab their feathers. Young birds often have pale brown eyes that will darken with age.

Close-up of juvenile red-tailed hawk's face

A close-up of a juvenile red-tailed hawk's face as it preens its feathers

No Blackberry Breakfast

There’s an invasive species of blackberry that has spread across the Northwest and is prevalent at Ridgefield. A variety of animals will use the berries as food or the thickets as cover, but this young hawk was using it as a place to listen for breakfast, every sound from below drawing its eyes downward.

Red-tail on the Hunt

On older birds like this one, the origin of their name is pretty clear. This red-tail flew in to hunt at the shore of Rest Lake but didn't catch anything this go around.

A red-tailed hawk flies in to hunt at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A red-tailed hawk flares its wings out as it lands at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

	Another Good Sunday I had a string of good Sundays thanks to the NFL playoffs and a fantastic Super Bowl, some fun visits to Ridgefield, and the ever present kitten madness. On this Sunday I headed up to Ridgefield at sunrise, expecting to stay for only a couple of hours, but had such a great time I ended up staying until sunset when the refuge closed. It was a day full of red-wings and red-tails and rough-legs and ruddies. And even some birds that don’t begin with ‘r’, like eagles and herons and song sparrows and harriers and four meadowlarks (Oregon’s state bird, which I hadn’t seen in years). The sky was heavily overcast and didn’t make for the best backdrop for this juvenile red-tailed hawk, but it was still fun to see so this hunter up close. The dried blood on its bill is a sober reminder that it wasn’t such a good day for some little critter at the refuge.
	Soaring I only had an hour at the end of the day to drive the auto tour, having just returned from a trip back east to be with my family after my step-father’s funeral. Still grieving, that brief hour helped lift my spirits, and this redtail was part of the finale of a lovely evening, followed soon thereafter by a group of tundra swans taking flight against a pink sky.
	Whiteout A red-tailed hawk that didn’t give up on looking for voles despite the heavy fog that blanketed the meadow. Or should I say didn’t stop listening for voles …

A red-tailed hawk that has just captured a Townsend's vole

A red-tailed hawk eating a Townsend's vole

A redtail catches and then pulls apart a vole. In the second picture where it is pulling the flesh from the dead vole, you can get a glimpse at the feathers that adorn the redtail's legs.

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February 9, 2011