My favorite photo - a newly fledged Bald Eagle has a feisty American Kestrel take a ride for a second, taken at the river behind the house.
Pileated Woodpecker pair in the front yard. New photos nearly every day on our Blog page!
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Things are always hopping at the Raptors of the Rockies organization. We're taking care of the birds and maintaining their enclosures, we're conducting raptor programs at local schools and organizations across Western Montana, art is flying out of the studio, we're taking photos and shooting video, we're out in the field birding and/or doing research, and much, much more. To help you keep up with the flurry of activities happening at Raptors of the Rockies, we're blogging on a more-or-less daily basis and our most recent posts are listed below. Enjoy!
Rooster FunPosted: Tue, 21 Jan 2020I recently told a friend that I had been taxidermist for 20 years, and she asked, "What's the craziest thing you ever did?" Here it is - a rooster for a fly-tying hackle business. I dyed the skin in five different colors then stuffed it, used at trade shows. Hugh Spencer claimed that he raised these special chickens, with a wink! He even had some believers...
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Bouncing Through the Back YardPosted: Sat, 18 Jan 2020
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No PheasantsPosted: Thu, 16 Jan 2020Thanks to our pals the DeNeneves across the street, and Sib was swooping then decided, time to go home. This is her "feed me" look.
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Always a Peregrine in the HousePosted: Wed, 15 Jan 2020This is a metal sculpture I welled back in 2005 with Nico in the sun. Live Peregrines are in the house every day as well and one Aplomado Falcon that perches on a house plant or bookshelf. We have a bunch of other metal bird sculptures, photos, and etchings all over the place, and what an avian home we have.
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Rough-legs Rule!Posted: Wed, 15 Jan 2020
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Rough-legged HawkPosted: Sat, 11 Jan 2020The other gorgeous hawks here in the winter are Rough-legs. The females and young have these distinctive white rumps with the dark terminal tail band and dark belly. After a year, the males have a mottled dark grey plumage with bars down the tail. From the breeding grounds in the north, they spy on rodents in the snow, hovering over a meal and often perched on utility poles and fence posts. They also tend to perch on small limbs and twigs on the tops of shrubs and trees, rather than on thick branches, a way to spot them a half-mile away and impress your friends with your wondrous raptor ID skills.
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Winter HawksPosted: Thu, 09 Jan 2020A careful look at these big hawks all over in open country reveals the obvious resident Red-tail, plus two others. Considered a Red-tailed Hawk subspecies, the Harlan's Hawks are here in the winter, migrants from Alaska and Canada. They have various degrees of black plumage, some all dark, and lacking the bright red tail. They are here in the Bitterroot Valley every winter, welcome visitors. The other is the Rough-legged Hawk (next Blog.)
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UpdatesPosted: Tue, 07 Jan 2020Just finishing our end-of-year reports, with Sibley yesterday:
This makes, since 1988 -
32 years, 135,207 in our audience, young and old alike, in 1767 programs, WHEW!
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Facebook PostPosted: Fri, 03 Jan 2020Wow, flash from the past and birthday fun.
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Yep, Just Now!Posted: Wed, 01 Jan 2020
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