Today's walk report: 092521

 Dusty's back!

Another fine morning walk and talk with Doc. Upper 50ºs to low 60ºs it was a beautiful morning in the garden and around the campus.

Here are the pictures...

Female Calypte anna hummingbird. Yo Dusty, over here!

 Male Calypte anna, Dusty, was back to owning his regular territory.

Some Canada geese (Branta canadensis) flew overhead at the top of the hill. 

Up the hill and back down red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) were plentiful. I saw five.

 As I moved closer, the moment the bird became aware of me.

Shortly after these shots the hawk flew off to the other side of the road and I heard one long, loud screech. I was able to make out another bird in the distant trees as a squabble ensued but I wasn't able to capture any pictures of the two birds together. This is where the incident occurred and this shot was taken after the other bird flew off. I believe this is the red-tailed I was originally taking pictures of. I know it's not a great shot, the bird is in the center of the frame. Tip: viewing this blog on a decent computer monitor or smart TV is a better experience than a mobile device.

Before it took position as victor in the squabble it flew across to some trees a short hop west of the trees in the image above. Less than a minute later it went back and the bickering continued.

 

Behind me there had been another red-tailed perched atop a tree about 80 yards from the first bird. I turned to see if it was still there. Yep... In retrospect, I should have spent a little more time with this bird but it was still pretty far away.

Here's the bird that finally flew off, leaving the quarrel, heading north. The original hawk took off a couple of minutes later heading east.

That's it! I thought it was fun. I've never seen hawks of any combination have a disagreement before. Thanks for joining in.