I had a peregrine falcon swoop me while on my "Dotted Lines of the Inland Northwest" tour. I was no threat to its babies which were a hundred feet up a cliff, but I guess the mama falcon thought otherwise. I was amazed at the speed of the bird, even though I already knew it was the fastest flying bird on earth.

I only knew Goldeneye as a James Bond film--until now.

Great pose.

Pro tip: it makes it easier to roll up the big numbers.

What a day!

I'm celebrating with you. 🌞

This is a captivating image!

The position or the bird, the particular shades of blurred background color, the shape of the pussywillows ..

And, maybe most of all, the way the yellow breast of the bird is linked to the soft yellow flowers by the gentle placement of the beak.

I don't know if this is an example of symbiosis, but what I see between the plant and the bird is that they need each other.

I'm happy for your good birding day!

Aaand just like that we lost 50 birds.

Slick trick to jump from 137 to 188 in one bird.

My birding rule of thumb is everything is a red-tail until proven otherwise. I’m interested in the differences so I can learn, so I look forward to seeing your other photo.

You know what these guys are? I’m impressed. Maybe they’re more common up your way?

They're quick little things, aren't they? Always a delight to get but a glimpse of these ones.

Good catch.

The other hawk is much more definitive - I’ll post it in a day or two. Seeing them together, this one reminded me of the immature red-shouldered I saw in California - they’re more whitish breasted, but with teardrop-shaped chocolate spots like the immature Coopers have. But who knows? Red-tails have a thousand different manifestations, so I couldn’t argue the point.

I think you were right the first time. I think red-shouldered have a reddish breast. Red-tails often have that white “shield” on the upper chest. What made you change your mind?