Photo of the Week: Cooper’s Hawk on the Prowl

small hawk with copper barring on its breast perches calmly on a tree branch at dusk.

After a long and successful day of birdwatching, I returned home last night just before dusk.

The sun’s golden orb shone so brightly from the west, I could barely see vehicles in front of me.

Let alone the traffic signal lights.

Since I was only a few miles from home, I drove my car into our local furniture store parking lot off the main road to wait for the sun to set.

Turning the corner to park my car in the parking lot I caught a slight movement. Continue reading Photo of the Week: Cooper’s Hawk on the Prowl

Photo of the Week: Great Horned Owl in Winter

brown and white owl perches in the fork of a tree in winter, with clear blue sky in background.

While the coloring of the Great Horned Owl makes it hard to distinguish it from tree trunks and bare branches in the stark winter woods of Michigan, the two feathered ear tufts stand out. What an impressive bird to see! And not a common bird for me. According to my records, the last time I… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Great Horned Owl in Winter

Photo of the Week: Downy Woodpecker

small black and white woodpecker perches on outstretched hand.

Can you imagine any bird, let alone a Downy Woodpecker like this one, eating bird seed from your hand? Birds have been fed so often by hand at Kensington Metro Park in southeast Michigan that often all you need to do is stretch out your arm and birds will land on your hand. Over the… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Downy Woodpecker