These raptors are amazingly agile in flight. Able to hover at one moment, dive into the water in the next. This male had just delivered some nesting material and was relocating itself to a new perch. With ease it jumped up and with a few flaps of its wings it landed on its new spot.
Those wings, by the way, add up to a wingspan in excess of five feet. Smaller than a Bald Eagle but bigger than a Red-tailed Hawk, they are very sizable birds.
This image was taken a few weeks ago. Now, the female is firmly ensconced on the nest, keeping eggs warm. With any luck, it won’t be long before the first of the new arrivals appears.
