Chance Encounters at Riverbend Ponds Natural Area: Red-Tailed Hawk
A red-tailed hawk patiently waits in a tree for prey to wander by.
Red Winged Blackbird
It never ceases to amaze me when I have extraordinary chance encounters with wildlife. My golden rule should be if you don’t get out there, you won’t ever see anything! I spent a lovely morning in April walking around the Riverbend Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was about an hour and a half after sunrise, not exactly the ideal time to catch wildlife waking up, but it was the earliest I could get out that day. Either way, I thought I’d at least see and hear the red-winged blackbirds chirping from last years leftover cattails and get a little dose of the outdoors to tide me over for the day I had planned, parked in front of my computer. There’s something about their never ending loud calls to each other in the spring that makes me realize spring really is here even if the weather is not indicative of that.
A male red-winged blackbird perches on a branch to sing in order to attract females
The male red-winged blackbird will perch on anything high and send their song out all day long in order to attract the females who hang out lower looking for food and building their nests (All About Birds). I guess it’s worth their time since one male can have up to 15 females building nests in his territory.
Common Grackle
The red-winged blackbirds aren’t the only birds chirping loudly around the ponds. I ran into this iridescent Common Grackle, as well. He looks like a normal blackbird until that sun hits the feathers and then, wow, all the different shades of blue, green, and purple come out! Some fun facts about the grackle are: they are the #1 threat to corn, and sometimes can be seen spreading their wings on the ground while letting ants crawl all over their body to rid the bird of parasites. (All About Birds)
An adult male common grackle sings as the morning sun lights up his feathers.
Squirrels
Beginning to finish my walk around the ponds, I noticed this squirrel sitting for some time in this position on the edge of the trail and of course decided I needed to snap his picture. He was pretty cute but eventually he went on his way.
A squirrel sits amongst the grasses in glowing morning light.
Red Tailed Hawk
I was feeling a tad disappointed with my wildlife encounters on this beautiful morning. While the ponds are pretty, and the area was full of geese, ducks, red-winged blackbirds, some grackles, and squirrels, I thought the outing had been a bit unclimactic. Da, ta, da…cue the dramatic music. Farther down the trail, on the last bend, I saw a bird perched atop a broken tree. I figured it was a hawk and that I needed to take a photo quick, as they typically fly away when you get close to them.
A red-tailed hawk perches at the top of a broken tree.
Mind you, as I got nearer to the hawk, I was positive that the bird would fly off. I literally had to walk right next to it to continue on my way. I got closer and closer, taking as many photos as I could before the opportunity was gone.
A red-tailed hawk listens to the underbrush for prey hiding below.
Before I knew it, I was 20 feet away, head-on, and it still hadn’t flown off. I zoomed in with Renaldo (my trusty, 200-600 lens, that I did indeed name after the soccer star because it’s big and heavy), and clicked away. This bird was not concerned with me at all. I soon figured out why… After tilting his head to the right and to the left, looking around him, I finally heard some noises in the underbrush that he must have been listening to all along.
A red-tailed hawk sits nonchalantly in a tree.
A red-tailed hawk glances around looking for prey.
A rabbit darted from the underbrush deeper into the forest of trees along the river. Sure enough, my friend, the red-tailed hawk took off. Lucky for me, he didn’t go far since the rabbit had only entered the edge of the forest.
A hawk scans the underbrush as it comes in for a landing.
A red tailed hawk comes in for a landing on the edge of the forest.
The hawk pauses and listens for a moment for any sign of the rabbit before moving deeper into the forest.
The hunt is on, as a red-tailed hawk listens intently for prey.
A hawk searches for a bunny that has gone deeper into the woods.
Sadly, I didn’t get to see the end of this hunt as the hawk and rabbit went deeper into the forest. However, it was quite an encounter! One, that I will be sure to remember for some time. It will serve as a good reminder that sometimes all you have to do is get outside and notice your surroundings. If you are stuck in your house or office all day, on your computer or scrolling through your phone, you won’t have opportunities for close encounters with wildlife.
