You are browsing the archives of raptors.

I ate escargot for the first time a few months ago. That I didn’t enjoy it probably had to do with the fact that Aderman, my videographer, ruined the experience by telling me that snails “are like snot in a shell”. I spared myself one of his too-detailed explanations by NOT asking how he came [...]

What do you think when you hear the word raptor? Those of us from generation Jurassic Park can’t help but think of the terrifying dinosaurs nicknamed “raptors,” horribly Hollywoodified versions of Velociraptor that were as it turns out, way too naked. Yes, Velociraptor had feathers, and arguably, it and the other dromaeosaurs could even be [...]

Five individual hawks consisting of two separate species are currently making waves in the Carolinas this winter.  They’re not the regular ones, the common open country Red-tailed and the smaller, more suburban Red-shouldered.  No, tails and shoulders would not raise eyebrows at all, let alone inspire legions of avid birders to descend on places as [...]

So much of the US is getting dumped on with snow.  At first it seemed like a nice holiday treat until you realize that your city has called its sixth Snow Emergency and it’s still technically autumn.  I love snow, I wouldn’t live in Minnesota if I didn’t, but you have to have a plan [...]

Ridgway’s Hawk is arguably the most critically endangered raptor in the world. So when Jake Kheel from the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation invited us to stay at their beautiful resort on the Dominican Republic and film the birds, I didn’t need a cattle prod or a kick up the old proverbial to make plans to [...]

I had a completely different post planned and tossed it out the window this morning over my coffee as I watched the birds out my window.  I have an especially interesting bird in my hipster Minneapolis neighborhood, a Cooper’s Hawk.  A Cooper’s hawk in and of itself may not be the most exciting bird on [...]

Somehow, despite having lived in Queens for over two-and-a-half years, and despite being a birder, I had never been to the one and only hawkwatch site in my fine borough.  I recently rectified that error of omission and am I ever glad I did.  In fact, my visit to Fort Tilden’s fine hawkwatch platform was [...]

One full week ago, a White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus, was discovered on Stratford Point, on Connecticut’s Long Island Sound shore.  Considering that the bird’s normal range is the western United States, south Texas, the southern tip of Florida, and portions of Central America and South America, birders were understandably excited about chasing down the rarity.  [...]

New Year’s Day birding is always so much fun.  Every bird is a new bird on the year list and the year seems wide open, full of limitless possibilities.  New Year’s Day 2010 was no exception.  My biggest problem was that I couldn’t decide where I would go with the few hours for birding that [...]

It had been over a week since the bird was first seen and nearly a week since it was first identified.  What bird am I talking about?  The Swainson’s Hawk in Greene County, New York, discovered by upstate birder and Greene County partisan, Rich Guthrie, and described by him here, here, and here.  Why does [...]

Yes, you read that right!  Two Harris’s Hawks are being used to scare pigeons away from a Warsaw subway stop.  Now if only someone would bring some cool raptors to Port Authority in New York City, so I could watch them from my office window…

Just yesterday, 3 July, I headed north out of the city by bus, met up with more birders in New Paltz, and continued all the way up to the town of Root in Montgomery County, New York, all in order to see my first-ever Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis).  Present at the location, at the intersection [...]

Pictures of two different accipiters, without comment as to possible identification.  One was found perched and digiscoped in Kissena Park this past Monday, the other flew directly overhead and was photographed with my 100mm macro lens in the Rockaways on Sunday.  Sharpies or Coops?  That is, Sharp-shinned Hawks or Cooper’s Hawks?  Or one of each?

Sunday was a day with Daisy’s family, and what better way to spend it than with bawdy lasses, courageous jousters, hilarious jesters, and strong mead?  No better way, of course, which is why we headed to Sterling Forest in Tuxedo, New York, to the New York State Renaissance Fair.  For those who don’t know, Renaissance [...]

Identity theft is a serious crime. Birds, to my knowledge, rarely bring legal action against one another, but if they did, there is a serious suit brewing amongst the accipiters. Presenting the case of Cooper v. Sharpie! Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks are so alike as to be nearly indistinguishable. These two birds are a [...]

Autumn is upon us, which means that beloved birds are once again on the move. Millions of birds are flying south to their winter habitats. Every migrant responds to its own timetable and follows its own route. To spy smaller birds like warblers and waders, simply keep your eyes open as they filter stealthily through [...]

Many a lifelong birder picked up his or her first field guide because of raptors. Bird of prey like eagles, hawks, and owls inspire a level of interest or even passion that most other types of birds can only envy. And as cool as the raptor suite seems to casual observers, it reserves some of [...]

Now that Seattle’s football team is an NFL powerhouse, I’m getting a slew of inquiries asking, “What kind of bird is a seahawk?” Good question, sports fans! Seahawk is but one of many nicknames for the awesome Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). This large, long-winged bird of prey cuts a striking figure, dark chocolate brown above and [...]