NATURE CLICKS #618 - ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK

Rough-legged Hawk, Green Island Wildlife Management Area, Iowa

Not so easy to get in front of the camera was a pair of Rough-legged Hawks I found yesterday on ”wildlife patrol” in the Green Island Wildlife Management Area. These hawks have their breeding grounds in tundra habitats of North America, way up north in Canada, but migrate to the Central United States for the winter. These opportunistic predators feed mostly on small mammals, like voles, mice, or even rabbits, but won’t refuse birds either.

NEW ARRIVALS

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

It was a great day for bird watching and photography. I took my morning coffee and breakfast on the porch today, with the camera ready to shoot on a tripod. The second half of the day was spent in the wetlands, but this is certainly for another blog post. More migrants have arrived during the last few days. The first female Rose-breasted Grosbeak was surprisingly already here a week ago, while the first males were spotted yesterday. This morning we counted at least 11 male Grosbeaks around our bird feeders. The most we have ever seen at the same time. I don’t care for a picture at a feeder very much but when the birds come close and use nearby bushes or trees during their approach, the index finger is on top of the shutter release button.

Male House Wren

This little House Wren sings his heart out since a week but no females have arrived yet. He has already stuffed several of the bird boxes with loose little twigs and branches. A female will hopefully soon inspect his work and they are the ones that choose and “fine tune” the nest if they are willing to mate. It’s an exciting time of the year…!