off in the distance another Red Tail soaring over the field.
Excited by our siting we moved on to get the Queen, not thinking any more about it. Then on our way out of the park in the same area, McGuffy shouted ... "Look, there are two of them!" And sure enough, a pair of Red Tails sitting together in the same tree.
As we watched and snapped pictures we noticed that they seemed to be as interested in us as we were in them. This is very unusual behavior for a Red Tail who would usually be spooked by our presence.
then we looked around for a nest, thinking they were probably guarding their nest and that is why they just stayed there.
So that was just awesome and off we went to our coffee shop, immersed in laughter and fun stories ... not giving a thought to the birds. But when I got home and downloaded my pictures and got a good look at these beauties, I realized that these were branchlings ... a first for me. I have seen Red Tail babies because we often had them at the Rehab center ... but these adorable branchlings were interested in us because they didn't know any better. They are out learning about the world and soon they will be semi accomplished hunters under their parents tutelage and by next winter they will have to fend for themselves. Many don't make it through their first year ... I hope these two are lucky and smart and live to be a ripe old age.
24 comments:
aren't they sweet! love their pretty downy chests!
Oh wow, retails! Wonderful!
Nice shots!!!
Isn't that so amazing?! We were recently in the Okefenokee Swamp and we were able to observe two owl babies sitting on a branch watching us. I didn't know they were called branchlings when they were that age. It was so exciting! Thrilling, really!! Thanks for these gorgeous photos and your wonderful comments on my blog!! xoxo Silke
So fascinating! and what great shots you got. So I have never heard the word... branchlings, but can guess what it means. No wonder they just watched you... had not had that lesson yet. Thanks for your comment and I will do my very best to not overdue on this trip. Taking all of my equipment along with me and practically every drug known . Need a big cart to carry it all. It was a little dicey if i was going or not, but this was a gift and you cannot imagine the price of it... on top of that it is not insured as the trip insurance alone was twice as much as I have ever paid for a cruise on a big ship... Anyway, defintely feeling better, but not total yet. Think it will be relatively easy though sitting out on my balcony watching t he world go by on the columbia river. Hugs and glad you are having so much fun
Wonderful shots of these gorgeous birds.
Extraordinary!!! Both in color and flight!!
Wow. And echoing your fervent wishes for their future.
Yes, those white bellies looked unusual until I took a closer look at their baby faces!
Great sightings of the hawks! It is cool seeing two hawks so close to each other.. Awsome series of photos.
beautiful images of these branchlings - I had never heard of this word before. It makes sense.
Have a wonderful week, happy birding, and thank you for stopping by my blog and for your heart-felt message.
Simply gorgeous, wonderful shots.
They are so adorable. I trust that God will care for them. It is said that He sees even the smallest sparrow fall, and cares for them. I have to believe that. Great shots. I am so glad we saw them, and that you were able to capture them on camera.
What a wonderful encounter The flight shots of the Red Kites really show up the tail feathers. Love the babies.
Oh that's wonderful! What a special gift you shared. Great spotting and flight shots and the branchlings are great. It's neat that you realized what they were when you downloaded ...like unwrapping a gift!
How nice to have the luck to see such cute little babies in the tree!
Really nice series of them!
Greetings Pia
Wow Andrea. Great shots! I too had never heard that word "branchlings" but I can understand it. I've never seen babies like these. Awesome. I have just realized who "Annie" is too. It's nice to see a photo to link to a name. We are finally going to get a whole week of temps around 60-62F, but of course the rain will come with it. DUH! It seems to happen every time the garden is full of blossoms. The rains will come and knock off all the petals. Oh woe is my flowers! Ah well, at least I'm getting to enjoy them for a little while. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
Nice! I love to see ours here in the city. We have them perch on street lights and our big ancient apple tree at times. Hope we get some babies around this year. :)
Oh those little "branchlings" are adorable. I do hope they survive too and you actually see and photograph them again.
What beautiful young birds!
How neat is that? You had a special encounter, with babies and parents too. Great shots.
Oh, I also wish these sweet baby birds will be able to be a gorgeous adults♡♡♡
Sending you Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
Beautiful birds.
Nice looking birds - hope they do survive. I'm never had a day that was not improved by the presence of hawks!
I the birds at the botanic garden are very used to being fed - hence I did not need to whisper! But I did get some very harsh looks from the Purple Swamphen (who we christened "Big Red") when no food was forth coming - having said that, I do believe my kids were cheating a throwing food was I was looking elsewhere !
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Post a Comment