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Morning at the Lake
updated: Mar 01, 2013, 2:35 PM
By Steve McGovern
Lake Los Carneros is a wonderful place in the spring. Beautiful colors, the lake, the wildlife. The middle
of the morning yesterday, it was all about raptors. I saw and photographed a young Red Tailed Hawk, a
mating pair (literally) of American Kestrels, White Tailed Kites, including many shots of two kites
hassling a soaring red tailed hawk.
Today, earlier than yesterday, it was more about the other birds. The Cedar Waxwings are back, though
seemingly in smaller numbers than last year. Maybe it's still early. There were all the regulars, as well;
Redwing Black Birds, a Mute Swan, Canada Geese, a myriad of duck species including big white ducks,
and Coots, to name a few.
Here are a few pictures for the bird lovers in the audience.
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This young Red Tailed Hawk is quite willing to let people (me) get close. This photo was taken with him
perched in a tree about ten feet above my head. I hoped he would fly away, but after ten minutes of
circling around below him, I left. Then he flew off.
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This is the same hawk lifting off from a perch. Not a great picture, but it shows the power in his legs
and wings as he takes flight.
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This is a mating pair of Kestrels. A few days ago, I posted shots of hawks and doves going at it, so I
won't push my luck by posting graphic photos of these two. Trust me... The kestrel population is not in
danger at Los Carneros.
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Cedar Waxwings. They just sat there, bathing in the morning sun. Reminded me of that Nicolas Cage
movie, City of Angels, where the angels stand and face the rising sun every morning.
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A Red Winged Blackbird. Noisy little buggers. The reeds are thin and brown, so it's easy right now to
get a look at them.
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