Birds of Prey

Osprey and the Goldfish

Culler Lake in Frederick, MD has lots of goldfish. This Osprey is taking full advantage of the easy pickings. April 18, 2020.

Mother Owl & Owlet

A mother Barred Owl and owlet watch me along the C&O Canal in Maryland. June 9, 2020

Long-eared Owl

I photographed this guy at the 2018 Owl and Raptor Festival in Boyds, MD. He's a long-eared owl.

Ospreys

Two ospreys tussle over a fish at Black Water National Wildlife Refuge, Aug 24, 2019.

Swallow-tailed Kite

A Swallow-tailed Kite gliding around Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. These beautiful raptors almost never flap their wings. "Instead, the kite uses its tail to pivot and twist to guide its movements. The bird can make sudden, tight turns, upside-down moves, and quick backward dives. Its aerial maneuvers hardly seem like flight at all, more like slipping and sliding across the air." ~ Text from Audubon

Osprey

Mother Osprey and nestlings. These long-lived birds may inhabit a nest for 20 years, with the birds adding to it each year. Rookery Bay, Florida.

Osprey

An Osprey heads to shore with his needlefish off Sanibel Beach, FL, April 17, 2021

Adult Burrowing Owl

I love the intense gaze of this little guy as he surveys his surroundings, Cape Coral, Florida. These are not big birds, in fact, they're about the size of a soda can. What they lack in size they make up for in their powerful facial expressions.

Juvenile Burrowing Owl

A young owl looks at me from a burrow in Cape Coral, Florida. Burrowing Owls in Cape Coral do not migrate. They are here year-round though they often hide in the summer to avoid the hot summer sun. The best time to see them is from January through June, and the best time to see the chicks is late April through June.

Barred Owl

I caught this Barred Owl watching me very carefully on a trail in the Orlando Wetlands Park, Fla.

Owl - Barred Owl

A barred owl peering down from the cover of a tree.

Harris Hawk

A Harris Hawk at the Owl Moon Raptor Festival, Boyds, MD, Nov 14, 2021

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Owl, Moon, Raptor Festival, Boyds, MD, Nov 2021. The Owl Moon Raptor Center is a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitation center specializing in birds of prey.

Nailed It!

The eagle with the shad in her claws flies off.

Making Eaglets

Eagles are loud and quite energetic in their mating habits. I heard these two before I saw them in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, Feb. 9, 2022.

American Bald Eagles

A pair of American Bald Eagles, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, Feb 9, 2022

Eastern Screech Owl - Gray Morph

This little guy was so hard to spot. Talk about blendiing into his\her surrrounding. Luckly another photographer lent me his tripod that was pointed right at him\her. These owls snooze during the day and there is no budging them!

Eastern Screech Owl - Red Morph

I was here two years ago and this little guy is in the same nook in a tree at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Eastern Screech Owls come in two colors...red and gray.

Eagle - Bald Eagle (Eastern)

This eagle is watching me from behind. An eagle can rotate its head about 180 degrees in each direction. A human can rotate 80 degrees in each direction. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, Feb 9, 2022

Snowy Owl

This owl has finished feasting on a duck. A single feather flutters in his beak as well as the bloody claws. This is a perfect spot for him to feed as there are many ducks wintering here too. Choptank River, Cambridge, Maryland. Feb 2022

Eagle - Bald Eagle (Eastern)

An American Bald Eagle holds a chunk of wood for her nest. The nest is about a mile away and pretty inaccessible, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware, Mar 1, 2022. Interesting fact, "Bald Eagle nests are some of the largest bird nests in the world — the largest ever recorded was in Florida, and measured 9.5 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep, weighing almost three tons!" - American Bird Conservancy

Northern Harrier

A Northern Harrier hovering over a field at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware. Harriers are very distinctive hawks with long wings and tails and an almost owl like facial disk.

Northern Harrier

A Northern Harrier coming in for an attempted catch. It didn't work for her this time. These small hawks have an almost owl-like facial disk. They also hover and fly low over wetlands and fields.