I've been lucky to get some good looks as raptors recently. Here are a few shots I hope you will enjoy. I've also attached an interesting shot of Black Skimmers.

The first photo was taken a few months ago at the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, CA (right outside UC Irviine). That platform was abandoned when I saw it yesterday, so the chick has fledged and left to fend for itself.

The next photo captured one of three Ospreys frequenting the Los Angeles River at Willow Street in Long Beach, CA. Much of the LA River is a concrete flood control channel, but South of Willow Street it spreads out into a green-lined channel frequented by ducks, herons and egrets, and other water and wading birds as well as these three Ospreys. This one was perched on a light fixture overlooking the channel and Willow street where it landed with its meal of fish. When the other Ospreys came too close, it would carry its meal with it and fly out to challenge the other birds.

The adult Cooper's Hawk in the next two photos flushed down from a pepper tree bordering Harriett Wieder Regional Park in Huntington Beach on August 19. When I walked by the pepper tree, this Cooper's dropped down carrying a heavy load...a pigeon...which it had been eating up in the pepper tree. Because of its heavy load, it landed about 25 feet away, in plain view, on a concrete wall across the garden. For about five minutes, we exchanged stares with the hawk, which was protecting its meal. It finally grasped the pigeon in its talons and flew ponderously out of sight into the neighboring yard. We had been wondering why we weren't seeing or hearing any perching birds in the area. The presence of a Cooper's Hawk was sure to keep smaller birds from visiting or calling.

Though not raptors, the final photo shows two Black Skimmers practicing dogfighting over a Pond at San Joaquin Marsh. I'm told that 20 years ago, Black Skimmers were considered a rarity in Southern California. These birds were part of a nesting colony of around 200 Skimmers in the San Joaquin Marsh. Additional colonies are nesting in Southern California, so while l these large terns are fascinating to watch, they are no longer a rarity here.
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jak

I've been lucky to get some good looks as raptors recently. Here are a few shots I hope you will enjoy. I've also attached an interesting shot of Black Skimmers.

The first photo was taken a few months ago at the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, CA (right outside UC Irviine). That platform was abandoned when I saw it yesterday, so the chick has fledged and left to fend for itself.

The next photo captured one of three Ospreys frequenting the Los Angeles River at Willow Street in Long Beach, CA. Much of the LA River is a concrete flood control channel, but South of Willow Street it spreads out into a green-lined channel frequented by ducks, herons and egrets, and other water and wading birds as well as these three Ospreys. This one was perched on a light fixture overlooking the channel and Willow street where it landed with its meal of fish. When the other Ospreys came too close, it would carry its meal with it and fly out to challenge the other birds.

The adult Cooper's Hawk in the next two photos flushed down from a pepper tree bordering Harriett Wieder Regional Park in Huntington Beach on August 19. When I walked by the pepper tree, this Cooper's dropped down carrying a heavy load...a pigeon...which it had been eating up in the pepper tree. Because of its heavy load, it landed about 25 feet away, in plain view, on a concrete wall across the garden. For about five minutes, we exchanged stares with the hawk, which was protecting its meal. It finally grasped the pigeon in its talons and flew ponderously out of sight into the neighboring yard. We had been wondering why we weren't seeing or hearing any perching birds in the area. The presence of a Cooper's Hawk was sure to keep smaller birds from visiting or calling.

Though not raptors, the final photo shows two Black Skimmers practicing dogfighting over a Pond at San Joaquin Marsh. I'm told that 20 years ago, Black Skimmers were considered a rarity in Southern California. These birds were part of a nesting colony of around 200 Skimmers in the San Joaquin Marsh. Additional colonies are nesting in Southern California, so while l these large terns are fascinating to watch, they are no longer a rarity here.
.
jak

I've been lucky to get some good looks as raptors recently. Here are a few shots I hope you will enjoy. I've also attached an interesting shot of Black Skimmers.

The first photo was taken a few months ago at the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, CA (right outside UC Irviine). That platform was abandoned when I saw it yesterday, so the chick has fledged and left to fend for itself.

The next photo captured one of three Ospreys frequenting the Los Angeles River at Willow Street in Long Beach, CA. Much of the LA River is a concrete flood control channel, but South of Willow Street it spreads out into a green-lined channel frequented by ducks, herons and egrets, and other water and wading birds as well as these three Ospreys. This one was perched on a light fixture overlooking the channel and Willow street where it landed with its meal of fish. When the other Ospreys came too close, it would carry its meal with it and fly out to challenge the other birds.

The adult Cooper's Hawk in the next two photos flushed down from a pepper tree bordering Harriett Wieder Regional Park in Huntington Beach on August 19. When I walked by the pepper tree, this Cooper's dropped down carrying a heavy load...a pigeon...which it had been eating up in the pepper tree. Because of its heavy load, it landed about 25 feet away, in plain view, on a concrete wall across the garden. For about five minutes, we exchanged stares with the hawk, which was protecting its meal. It finally grasped the pigeon in its talons and flew ponderously out of sight into the neighboring yard. We had been wondering why we weren't seeing or hearing any perching birds in the area. The presence of a Cooper's Hawk was sure to keep smaller birds from visiting or calling.

Though not raptors, the final photo shows two Black Skimmers practicing dogfighting over a Pond at San Joaquin Marsh. I'm told that 20 years ago, Black Skimmers were considered a rarity in Southern California. These birds were part of a nesting colony of around 200 Skimmers in the San Joaquin Marsh. Additional colonies are nesting in Southern California, so while l these large terns are fascinating to watch, they are no longer a rarity here.
.
jak