Breakfast at my house today !

[bwv]

This guy stopped in today...



He was carrying this possum, dropped it.. let it sit there for about a half hour while he watched from the tree, then proceded to spend another half hour eating it.

 

[Dutch]

That's just too cool! Love the "Birds of Prey".

 

[bwv]

I have only seen one other bird like this in person in my life.

We are in (very) rural upstate NY, I've lived in this area for 36 years of my 43... and am always outside.. always was as a kid too.

This bird was right in my front yard, about 200 feet from my front door.

I took this video from the kitchen counter, through a window using a meade etx60 with an old point and shoot sony.

(I took about 40 min of video and 40 pictures)

This guy hung around for about 3 hours this morning.

I hope he visits more.

 

[Geezer]

They have been breeding along the Esopus and especially the Ashokan reservoir. I see them often flying over, but never up close. Very cool.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

We have a surprisingly large # of them down here in our swamps. It is always a thrill for me to see these magnificent birds. I have seen one eating a young raccoon perched in a tree alongside the Mississippi river. I love the way the sunlight reflects off that white head on a good day.

Thanks for sharing this with us. I am glad you had the pleasure of witnessing this.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Eagle is delicious. It tastes a lot like owl and hawk.

Just Kidding!

 

[bwv]

Maybe Geezer can get us some eggs... I hear they are breeding over there on his side of the mountain

If it wasn't 20F with snow (and salt...) on the ground.. I'd go look myself.

 

[rbentnail]

I've seen a few eagles at a distance, mostly down east toward the coast where it's flatter and wetter, but never up close. Swampy ponds on golf courses, places like that.

My local bird o' prey is a Red Tailed Hawk. Can hear him coming from about a half mile, before that if you notice all the other birds hide and shut up. Normally he sits at the top of the tallest tree in the back yard but once every two or three weeks, just as the sun is peeking over the hill and through the woods I catch him on a corner post of my elevated deck, presumably scouring the back yard for breakfast. We always have a nice chat through the kitchen window as I get my coffee, I'm not much of a breakfast guy.

 

[bwv]

We had a Red Tail hawk living across from a big hay storage barn down the road about a half mile... every trip home to lunch he could be found sitting on top of a power line pole... I kinda thought he was lookin for mice.

I haven't seen him around for a couple months... but it was nice while it lasted. He was a pretty bird, and good sized too..

I'm not a bird watcher or anything.. but these guys are pretty awesome to see.

 

[rbentnail]

My visitor has been a regular for 3 years now. I'm only guessing of course, there's no sure way of knowing, but I believe he's the same one we saw as a basic brown crasher from that late summer. That's his name- Crash. From when he was young. He had a great talent of attempting to light on branches that were too small for him and then flap wildly to keep from hitting the ground when they gave way. Crash!!

 

[Geezer]

Maybe Geezer can get us some eggs... I hear they are breeding over there on his side of the mountain

If it wasn't 20F with snow (and salt...) on the ground.. I'd go look myself.

They nest high up, and any nests that I am aware of are carefully watched. Besides, I wouldn't want to tangle with an angry eagle.

The first nests in the area were built by ecologists at the Ashokan reservoir and watched very carefully. They didn't tell the public about them until after enough people saw them flying around that it was no longer a secret. It is a pretty cool success story that they are ranging so far. On the down side, I bet they eat a lot of fish and small game.

 

[Intech]

Very cool. We have a mating pair and nest on the plant property here where I work. We also have an active Osprey nest (in season). Interesting to see the interaction.