Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Red-tailed Hawk eating lunch

Several family members recently congregated in California in the SF Bay area, and some of us spent the better part of one day out on the San Mateo coast. At Pigeon Point, as the fog was rolling in, I noticed a Red-Tailed Hawk swoop down off a telephone pole and land just out of sight, but fairly near. I hustled over to the area, turned the corner, and there it was -- just a few feet away. It seemed more concerned with its lunch than with me, so I got some great video of it as it ate. (Note the salt spray stain on the lens -- didn't see that until I was processing the video!)

Red-tailed Hawk eating lunch from Jane Patterson on Vimeo.

California Birds -- Black Turnstone

This was a new bird for me in January '09, but I got this great video in October when I visited again. The Black Turnstone is, of course, closely related to the Ruddy Turnstone that we'll see in Louisiana on the coast. The Turnstones are named for their peculiar habit of flipping stones and other objects with their bill to catch the critters hiding underneath. I have a video of that somewhere...will have to find it!

Black Turnstone - Pillar Point, Half Moon Bay, CA from Jane Patterson on Vimeo.