This is a story about Raptors. Every picture here was taken within three miles of my home in the middle of Houston. There was a huge influx of white-winged doves into Houston about ten years ago, and along with them came the large raptors. However, as in the introduction, there are numerous smaller raptors in Houston too. The above Kite is a catch them on the wing bug eater. Talk about your take out order.
She/he and her husband/wife have chosen a sycamore that is at the end of my block, in which to make a family.
What makes this so much fun, besides the proximity, is the fact that the records I find suggest that a mating pair of Mississippi Kites are rare in Texas. Let me mention, that is an out of date reference. That said, It’s all I have.
The second part of this story is the Monk Parakeet breeding area down the street from me. There is a regular set of Raptors that hang there waiting for a meal. It includes at least two Red-tailed Hawks, and two of what I believe are Broad-winged Hawks.
It doesn’t take a lot of walking for me. Next to my neighborhood is a powerline abutment. And the area underneath those lines is pastureland (Yeah, in the middle of Houston). That land runs about a mile and a half, north to south, until it crosses over Braes Bayou. If you walk the length of the area, something that can be a challenge since there is a train track on one side, and a drainage ditch on the other, you get to see a ton of fun things. If you make it down to the Bayou, there is a sewer-treatment plant that hosts this guy:
He’s not hanging out at the treatment plant for fun, it has at least one radio tower that gives him a good view of several miles of Braes Bayou. Please note, they concreted the bayou where it travels through the city proper, a tragedy in my opinion. Even with that, there is a ton of food chain there that I get to watch. That food chain includes a large carp population that this Osprey gets to eat. Sadly, while I’ve watched him for years, I’ve never seen a mate. And yes, I think he must be lonely. They do mate for life.
This guy is a Red-shouldered Hawk. I’ve seen them take grasshoppers, big ones, and eat them while sitting on the power-lines.
I was walking on a major thoroughfare and he flew right in front of me and landed in a pine. Easy Peasy. You still have to be fast though. Hawks are just as skittish as any bird.
This guy has eluded my meager hawk identification skills. He looks like a bug eater, maybe a Sharp-shinned? He followed me home one day (I walk my youngest to school in the mornings) and gave me time to collect my camera and a strobe with a fresnel lens. Nice of her.
My final picture is my favorite. And it breaks the three-mile rule. She showed up when I was waiting at my kid’s KungFu temple. I saw her take the dove on the wing and disappear behind a church. I made a quick run around and there she was, looking proud.
I admit this is my favorite hawk picture. I wish she weren’t on a rooftop, but the image is iconic to me. Think about the size of that Raptor. The dove is a good five inches in length.
Last, I’m throwing this little guy in for funsies. Someone asked in one of my other Bucket attempts about turtles. I will do something about Texas turtles later. But this guy showed up at my favorite local frog pond.
An add on. Last night I was down looking for a Purple Gallinule that has taken up residence in the drainage ditch that runs along the pasture where I do most of my photography.
He lives in a bamboo break. It was getting on towards dusk when I heard the sound of breaking bamboo and movement. I thought, what in the world? To my surprise, a medium-sized Snapping turtle slid out of the bamboo and into the ditch. I’m guessing it was laying eggs.
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Now it’s your turn! What have you noted in your area or travels? Any stealthy critters in your yard? Please post your observations and general location in your comments. I’ll check back later.
Stolen from a Redwoodman Bucket. :)