Ready to go

The day started with a walk through the woods with three of my birder friends where we racked up a surprising 35 species while covering three miles.  And, happily, my hip felt okay - so maybe my stretches are helping.  

After the walk, two of us headed over to our friend's place, Avian Wildlife Rescue, to watch her release a young Red-tailed Hawk who has been recovering after an injury.  She's been recovering at the center for about six months and was very ready to fly.  I am putting another shot in Extra of her just leaving Giselle's hands.  I was debating which to use as my main image, but I chose this one because if you look closely you can see the twin barbs on this raptor's tongue.  This is not something I'd ever seen before so I found it very interesting.  This barb also exists in eagles so one can surmise it helps to hold prey in place, almost like a fish hook.  I also thought a close up look at the feet was really interesting as I never realized how long their "toenails" are - makes sense since this is really what they use to catch prey.  

Once released, the hawk flew up to a low branch of a nearby tree then eventually worked her way up, finally flying to a more distant tree, vocalizing all the while.  Almost as if to say "look at me - I'm flying!"  Her age is estimated at under 2 years and the gender is an educated guess based on the diameter of her legs.  

A lovely wrap up to a very enjoyable morning.

Home to shower, refill feeders and have a bit of dark chocolate with sea salt.  You know what to do...

xo
Debbi