Soaring birds

I can never pass up photographing a soaring bird. With their wings stretched out, you get an almost complete view of them, and can see feather details that are hidden when they are perched or on the ground. Below are some recent highlights of some of these high-fliers.

Roseate Spoonbills led by a White Ibis: 

Magnificent Frigatebird (female):

Great Egret:

Anhinga (female):

Male:

Little Blue Heron (adult):

Juvenile:

Snowy Egret:

Black Vulture:

Tricolored Heron:

Sandhill Cranes:

Swallow-Tailed Kite:

Checking in on the Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks

I caught up with Charlie, the resident male Red-Tailed Hawk of Tompkins Square Park, when I stopped by earlier today. He was perched on the cross of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.

He stayed up there a few minutes before taking off and flying into the park.

Once inside the park, he perched above a flock of pigeons that was feeding on the ground and watched them for a while.

Apparently he wasn't interested in catching any of them, and he flew back to the roof of the church.

He then surprised me by dropping down to a ledge...

...where he proceeded to start plucking a pigeon he had apparently stashed up there.

After eating his fill, Charlie once again took off and headed back into the park.

Over a couple of hours, Charlie gave Amelia several breaks from the nest so she could fly around and stretch her wings. She never stayed out for long, but they were both very active. Charlie brought some sticks to the nest and stayed in close proximity. 

 

This is Amelia perched on the edge of the nest a few days ago. 

The hawk pair appears to be doing well. More to come.

 

Anhinga, ready for his close-up

Anhingas are some of my favorite birds, and I spent some time this last winter visiting them down south where they live.

 Look at this guy all decked out in his spectacular breeding plumage!

This flirty male has it all going on.

Anhingas are not waterproof, so they often sit in the sun with their wings out to dry off. I've never seen one looking so punkish, though.

Although they're not waterproof, Anhingas still have an oil gland at the base of their tail that they use when grooming. 

So pretty.

Females have a lighter head and neck.

This is another male doing a snakey dance on a railing.

This individual remained on the railing as I spent time photographing other things. He seemed to be waiting for an audience.

This is a typical sighting of an Anhinga perched along the shore of a lake.

And this is what you see when they're hunting in the water: just a needle-tipped serpentine head.

I've posted photos of this sculpture before, but I really love it and have to photograph it every time I see it. It's the work of Paul Eppling and is perched along the lake shore of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg, Florida. Boyd Hill is home to many of the sculptor's artworks.

Birds of a feather...