Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
I’ve been keeping an eye out for these gorgeous raptors and today spotted my first Swainson’s Hawks of the season. This male and female were hanging out a couple of poles away from each other in southern Weld County, Colorado.
During the spring and summer they can be found across much of the western half of North America but they winter in Argentina. Some of them will migrate 12,000 miles round trip!
Captured an extraordinarily close mid-air collision today out by Front Range Airport just outside Denver, Colorado. Okay, maybe not. Not the greatest quality of picture but this Southwest Airlines plane intruding on my hawk flyby amused me.
I took a detour on the way home yesterday and drove around the hawk hot spots north of Denver International Airport and came across a couple of juvenile Swainson’s Hawks that were very cooperative. This one had just launched itself from the pole it was perched on and took off right over me. Lots of fun!
Scroll down below the main image for more pictures of the hawk and another that was nearby.
A short detour after work led me to an area near Denver International Airport and a Swainson’s Hawk nest that I have documented extensively in recent months. Three young ones came out of it and they have all fledged but one was still hanging around.
The juvenile seemed to think it could intimidate me and chase me off. 😉
They won’t be around for long as they will soon begin their long migration to Argentina where they spend winter.
Scroll down below the main image for more pictures of the hawk and another that was nearby.
Taken this past May, this gorgeous female gave me some nice flybys with the blue Colorado skies serving as a backdrop.
Argentinian triplets in Colorado. After work I swung by a local Swainson’s Hawk nest for the first time in a couple weeks to check on the little ones.
They are getting big quickly and it would appear the strongest one is very close to fledging since it was up and out of the nest.
Swainson’s migrate to Colorado and much of the western half of the United States in the summer. Winters are spent in Argentina – what could be up to a 12,000 mile round trip!
Lacking any better alternatives I once again headed east of Denver to the area north of Denver International Airport. As expected I found plenty of Swainson’s Hawks willing to provide me with ample photo opportunities. This time they were quite cooperative with some great launches and landings.
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Swainson’s Hawk today in Adams County, Colorado. I don’t have a problem getting these raptors to give me picture perfect flybys. What I do have a problem with is Mother Nature giving me gray skies as a backdrop. 😉
My usual Saturday morning wildlife viewing started out quite slow. A drive through the Rocky Mountain Arsenal yielded little more than a curious deer but after heading north and east, hawks and owls clearly became the dominant subject.
Swainson’s Hawks were plentiful in the area north of Denver International Airport with many of them being more than willing to pose for me. Most notably was a pair ‘caught in the act’ mating on a fence.
From there I headed to a known Great Horned Owl’s nest to check on the family. The three owlets who aren’t too small anymore had worked themselves out of the nest and were lower in the tree. Dad and Mom kept a watchful eye from nearby.
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