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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

A great day for a newbie (1 Viewer)

Bruce B

Birdaholic
I saw what I believe was a juvenile red tail hawk today. I walked out my back door and there he was flying along with an irritated mockingbird in tow. I had my 8X bins around my neck so I watched as he landed in a tree. The mockingbird landed not far from him and kept scolding him. I made a run for it and got my 16X bins on a tripod. He was still there when I got back and it was an awesome site for me. He got tired of being scolded by the mockingbird and flew to another tree where I watched him for a good 10 minutes. He then flew to another area where I could no longer see him. I know it's not a big deal for experienced birders but for me it was incredible. I've seen hawks flying before but I never spent time observing one through binoculars. With the 16X bins I could count the spots on his chest. What an amazing site for a newbie.

Cheers,

Bruce
 
What a great day, indeed, Bruce! Personally I think anytime you get long, close looks at any bird, it's exciting, I don't care how experienced you are. But especially the raptors because most of the time they're so high and/or backlit and can't be lured into the yard with a bit of seed. ;)

And don't you love how a smaller bird can chase off a large hawk?! LOL! I've seen an Anna's hummingbird pester and dive-bomb an adult red-tail until the hawk flew off, still being mobbed by the hummer!

Thanks for sharing your experience. Can't wait to hear of more!
 
Katy Penland said:
And don't you love how a smaller bird can chase off a large hawk?! LOL! I've seen an Anna's hummingbird pester and dive-bomb an adult red-tail until the hawk flew off, still being mobbed by the hummer!

Little man syndrome I guess ;) I've noticed the mockingbirds around here are tough though. They don't take crap from any bird or anything else for that matter.

Bruce
 
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