While I was driving from Sierra Vista, Arizona to the Chiricahua Mountains, I saw this Swainson's Hawk perched on some Yucca flowers. I stopped by the side of the highway to photograph him, and after a few shots he flew off. I had anticipated this, and was able to get a couple of flight shots as well. 9/9/19 Judith Sparhawk
This was one of the birds at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, the animal rehabilitation place that I visited last week. This species is one of my favorites (I have a lot of favorite birds!), and I consider him my name bird. Before this was called a kestrel, it was called an American Sparrowhawk. My name, Sparhawk, is an old English name from back in falconry days, when the Sparrowhawk was one of the birds of prey that brought home dinner. The name Sparhawk came from Sparrowhawk, as early as the 1500's. (The first Sparhawk, Nathaniel, to come to America, came in 1628, settling in the area now known as Massachusetts.) This may be way too much history to place on this, our smallest falcon! 7/11/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com
One reason for my trip to the mountains yesterday was a chance for early entry into Big Bear Alpine Zoo, for a photoshoot. They had moved to a new location last fall, and invited photographers to shoot pics for their next year calendar. It was fun going, and the facility is much better than the previous one, but it was very hard to photograph there, and I don't think I got anything worth a calendar! This "zoo" is a rehabilitation facility for injured birds and animals, mostly from the local area, although they accept animals that need rehabbing or a place to live out their lives, some from far away--for example, the 3 Grizzly Bears there certainly didn't come from the local mountains! This is Hootie, one of the Great Horned Owls that are in residence there. He came out of the cage for us to get acquainted with him, and for better pics. Even in the mountains at 7000+ feet it was almost 90 degrees, and I felt sorry for all our feathered and furred critters there. 7/10/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com
