Beaver, Tits, Hairy Peckers and more

The vixen was back today. This time, I was home and had my camera handy. Still, the pics are through my front window, it was snowing, and the closest shot I got was 25 meters, so quality is not the greatest. Again, I'm not sure if this is a female fox, but I like using the word vixen.

Unfortunately, I did not get to witness the mammal eating a fresh catch, I just saw it sniffing around and checking out a bird feeder rather closely. It was also kind of odd that this happened at 1:00 p.m. Usually these animals are only seen at night, dawn or dusk. When they are out in broad daylight, in a neighborhood, many times they are sick with rabies or something. But I am guessing that because of the snow easing up a bit, which had been coming down since yesterday afternoon , a good oppotunity to forage finally came about for the fox. Anyway, here are the pics

Red Fox

lol...Vixen.


Cool pictures, and amazing that its getting so close into a neighborhood...it must be hungry.

Here are some pics I shot in the back yard of a friends here in Minneapolis. I got about 30 pics of this guy and within about 25 - 30ft. It was pretty cool. I haven't I.d'd it, but was thinking maybe an adolescent red tail or Kriders?
Would love to know. I see alot similar in my backyard.

Yeah, looks like a young Red-tailed hawk. It could be a Krider's variation, but tough to tell until they get their adult plumage. Cool pics ... I'm from the Minneapolis area too, as you could probably tell if you've read any of the thread. Thanks for contributing.

Horni, those are some great fox pictures, and an excellent thread also

Thanks Demo!!!

I might as well move along with another raptor species.

Rough-legged Hawk



They get their name because of the feathers covering their legs. When spending most of the year up in the tundra, that comes in handy. During the winter months, they make their way into the northern half of the U.S.A., that is when I took these pics.



Just a bit smaller than a Red-tailed hawk. The black squares on the "wrist" of the wing is the easiest way to identify them. They also like to hover, while looking down for small animals to eat. This helps in identifying them, because not many other hawk species do this.



Pics taken in Minnesota, during the last couple of years.

It is also fairly common for this species to be seen as a "dark morph". A little over 10% are like this (shown below, pic taken in Grantsburg, Wisconsin)

Next ...

The Bald Eagle. I have a ton of pics of these guys. In Minnesota they are quite plentiful due to our thousands of lakes and rivers. They are mainly fish eaters, with ducks also high on their menu, so territories with water are essential. They are North America's largest birds of prey, with wing spans reaching 80 inches, and weighing up to 10 pounds.





Their giant bills are perfect for picking meat off of a fish, or tearing into a frozen deer carcass.

The nictitating membrane that you see on the eye in the above pic, helps keep the eye clean. After all, they need to go face first when dining and things can get messy. Also, during flight it helps keep the eyes debris free and moist, and they can still see with it closed.





Their giant talons come in handy during nest building. They have to break tree branches off and carry them to the nest.

Great photography

The nests are gigantic, and are used for many years. The older the nest, the bigger it is.



Juvenille Bald Eagles do not have white heads and tails, usually takes them 5 years before they get their adult plumage. They also look a little bigger than adults, because their flight feathers are longer. Think of them as "training wheels".

During nesting season, I see this a lot. A small song bird chasing bigger birds away.



Smaller birds are more maneuverable and have no problem chasing them while avoiding their talons. Usually Bald Eagles are left alone, because they eat fish, not songbirds. This one must have been doing some nest robbing though.

Bald eagles are very social and spend a lot of time flying together. Many times it looks like they are playing.

Lastly, here is a young one trying his hand at fishing ... came up short though.

horni, those are truly some awesome Eagle pics mate, the detail in some of them is fantastic

I didn't know it took them more than 5 years to get their adult plumage either. So what is the lifespan of a Bald Eagle anyway?

In captivity, they can live for 50 years, just like parrots and such. In the wild ... usually about 10 to 15 years. Some have been found to be 30 years old.

I have a lot of pics without much detail at all, where you can barely tell that it's a Bald Eagle ... I just don't show you those.

Wow, had no idea they lived so long...

I see how it is, take lots and hope at least a few come out well

Quote:

Originally posted by kowman

Great photography

Thanks!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Demodad

I see how it is, take lots and hope at least a few come out well

Yep, I've taken my share of bad pics. Most of them get deleted right away, but I've saved some. i'll post them here for the hell of it.

I've said it before earlier in the thread ... don't be afraid to post your pictures because of bad quality. I would like others to contribute so we can see animals from around the world. There must be other nerds out there besides myself,Notech, TK, AZ, SP and Highguy who enjoy wildlife photography.

Here are some more Bald Eagle pics that aren't the best of quality, but I saved them because they were my first or they show something that I don't have a pic of.

Because you asked, I have one I can post. I wouldn't call myself an animal photographer...unless I'm diving, but I managed to capture this on my cell phone on my way to work the other day.

horni, those last 3 pics with the eagle catching the fish are awesome, blurry or not, still cool as hell

@ SP - Nice pic seems you folks have to be more careful of the wildlife while you're driving than we do