A Couple of Black Hills Raptors!

It was so beautiful out this afternoon, I had to get out of the house and go for a short drive!  Every morning, my husband is seeing at least 10-15 ferruginous hawks near St. Onge and Whitewood, so I headed that direction to see if I could get some good pictures.  I had only gone a couple miles when I found my first hawk, but he didn't stick around long as soon as I started to slow down!

Just around the corner, there was a kestrel having some lunch!

I got some great photos of him enjoying his lunch, and then headed towards Whitewood to see what else I could find.  Although I saw at least 10 more hawks, they were all busy hunting and most of them were too far from the road for photos.  That's okay though...it was a wonderful afternoon to get out of the house and go for a short drive!

A Visit from a Flock of Bohemian Waxwings

Every year, I get a visit from some of my favorite birds, a huge flock of Bohemian waxwings!  Although everything I read says they are rare in the Black Hills, they are a yearly visitor to my crabapple tree...usually stripping it bare within about 15-20 minutes and then traveling on.  But during their brief visit yesterday, I was fortunate to be at my desk with my camera ready, and I was able to take more pictures of waxwings than I will ever need!

These birds are so much fun to watch as they frantically eat every berry in sight, taking flight as every car drives by, then flying back in as a flock minutes later.  They had my tree stripped in no time and then were gone...leaving me with a memory card full of the antics of these colorful, entertaining birds!