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Impromptu air show

Yesterday I showed you a female harrier hawk having a look for dinner. Yesterday evening I had the good fortune to find a male harrier on the wing and I was witness to an air show I hadn’t seen before.

This bird was flying in great swoops, making big circles on the wing while calling.

If you’ve ever seen a hummingbird perform a courting dance, this harrier was putting on showy stunts of that sort, flying up, then soaring down dramatically. The downward dives were so fast most of my shots were blurred.

I hadn’t seen a harrier do this before. I assume there was an impressed female somewhere nearby. I know I certainly was.

If you notice differences between yesterday’s harrier and today’s, you’re correct. The females have more reddish coloration on their chests and wings. The males are more grey and white. They’re also smaller than females.

Domestic scene

I came upon these two eagles at sunset. Then my battery went dead.

By the time I was ready to shoot the light had turned a golden red and the eagle on the left wound up to make a proclamation.

He threw back his head and let loose.

Then he proceeded to broadcast the rest of his sunset message.

I decided it was a male and the one on the right his long suffering mate. “Yes, dear” was all she said.