Other Birds of Prey at Ridgefield

Rough-legged Hawk

Is It Morning Already?

I had the chance to photograph this rough-legged hawk over several weeks as she was often hanging out near the auto tour at Ridgefield, but I wasn’t happy with the close-up shots as the skies were always a dull gray overcast. I arrived at sunrise on Saturday morning specifically with the hope of photographing her under clear skies, ignoring all of the other animals at the refuge and heading straight to where I had seen her last.

Thankfully not only did I get my blue sky, but she was waiting on a sign post near the road. There was little traffic at the refuge at that hour, so I had the chance to watch her for some time. She eventually let out a large yawn in the beautiful morning light, and I was very lucky that she turned back towards the sun when she yawned so that the sun illuminated her mouth.

I laughed to myself that perhaps I wasn’t the only one who thought it was awfully early in the morning to be out and about.

A rough-legged hawk perched in a tree at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Sunset Perch

A young roughleg perched on a mossy tree branch late in the day, watching me as I pass below on the auto tour.

A rough-legged hawk watches for voles at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Vole Watch

A rough-legged hawk keeps a close watch just below her, listening for the voles and mice that move about unseen underneath the cover of the grasses that line the edge of the marsh.

Great Horned Owl

Faithful Parent

This great horned owl kept a close eye on its recently fledged youngsters over the course of several weeks. The owls were usually in sight from the auto tour at Ridgefield and became the stars of the spring at the refuge. I saw them many times but usually not in great light, so it was nice to see them in the warm light near sunset. Unfortunately the gates of the refuge close fairly early so I had to leave the owls before I wanted and head towards the exit.

The soft downy feathers of a great horned owl fledgling

Downy Soft

My downy feathers are huggably soft,
My beak and talons are huggably not.

Who am I?

A close-up view of the face of a great horned owl fledgling

I'll Fly When I'm Good and Ready, Thank You Very Much

Even at such a young age, this part of the owl is less huggable than the previous picture. While driving the auto tour at Ridgefield this past May, I came across a few people who had stopped in the forest. Two great horned owls had just fledged, one had taken its first flight but this one wasn't quite so eager to test its wings.

This is the first shot I took, unfortunately it was severely overexposed but while I took more pictures of the owl, it never again looked at me, apparently unimpressed by my beak and talons. One of the parents was keeping a close eye on its young charge, who was more in a mood to sleep than to learn to fly.

I didn't see it take the leap that day but for the next month the two young owls could be seen from the road, although much farther into the forest, with one of the adults always close by.

Short-eared Owl

Who Am I?

I probably saw my first short-eared owl long before I identified one.

Seen on the wing, it's easy to mistake a short-eared owl for the more commonly seen northern harrier. Harriers look a little owlish in the face, and they hunt with similar styles and for similar prey.

I finally ID'ed my first short ear in the last days of 2006. It was late in the evening and I was finishing up the auto tour and about to head home when a short ear flew in front of me with a rodent in its talons. It landed beside the road and seemed to disappear in the brush. I relocated it but it soon took flight again to get farther from the road.

My next visit to the refuge produced more owls, they were sitting on some of the signs on the auto tour in between their forays into the large fields to hunt. The light wasn't the best as you can see from the skies, but it was fun to be able to see these hunters from such a close vantage point.

And up close like this, there's no confusion between owl or harrier, the big yellow eyes alone are a give-away.

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February 9, 2011