A few from the local Raptor Center

Last weekend the MN Raptor Center held their spring raptor release at a park close to my home. They released two rehabilitated red-tailed hawks and a Cooper's hawk. In addition to that, they brought along several education raptors which they had out on display. I went to see if I could get a few photos. The conditions were challenging - harsh mid-day sun, very windy, and lots of people. All of the birds were facing away from the sun. I managed to get a few photos that I thought were decent and thought I'd share. I really like the 100-400 for events like this.

Red-tailed hawk (white phase): EDIT - this is a Krider's hawk, subspecies of Red Tailed.

Great Set Liz!!!

Very nice set Liz. Love the little owl. What town was this in?

canonloader wrote in post #5470189
Very nice set Liz. Love the little owl. What town was this in?

Hyland Park Preserve, only a few miles from my house in Bloomington, MN. It's amazing to have a park like this right in the middle of suburbia! One of the reasons I like Bloomington so much.

Jim has mentioned a raptor rehab center over on this side of the river, above Winona, just wondered if it was that one. He wants to go up there one day soon and I think I'll go along.

Those are awesome shots despite those challenges. Very nice!

Very nice indeed. Next time they hold an event like this, would you mind posting it. This would be a great place to meet other POTN Bird Junkies. I believe this would have been less than a 3 hour drive for me, and well worth it! I want to go to the raptor center in Wabasha soon. Ever been there??
Anyway, very nice set of pictures!!

Great series Liz! Almost said "beautiful pictures" then I got to the vulture

Nice! I never realized how crappy my zoom was.

It's funny...those little owls are the most aggressive

canonloader wrote in post #5470244
Jim has mentioned a raptor rehab center over on this side of the river, above Winona, just wondered if it was that one. He wants to go up there one day soon and I think I'll go along.

The MN Raptor Center is located at the U of M here in Minneapolis. It's fun to visit, but I wouldn't recommend it for photography. It's almost impossible to get a clear view of any of the raptors with the way they have the enclosures set up. But if you ever make it over this way, it's worth a visit just to see them.

hTr wrote in post #5470164
Great Set Liz!!!

Thanks, always fun to see those raptors up close!

paintmblak wrote in post #5470279
Those are awesome shots despite those challenges. Very nice!

Thanks, wish I could have gotten more. I'll try again at the fall release!

Back288 wrote in post #5470565
Great series Liz! Almost said "beautiful pictures" then I got to the vulture

Thanks, I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

amandagal wrote in post #5470603
Nice! I never realized how crappy my zoom was.

It's funny...those little owls are the most aggressive

Thanks, I guess the little ones have to have an attitude much bigger than their size!

TrekPic wrote in post #5470328
Very nice indeed. Next time they hold an event like this, would you mind posting it. This would be a great place to meet other POTN Bird Junkies. I believe this would have been less than a 3 hour drive for me, and well worth it! I want to go to the raptor center in Wabasha soon. Ever been there??
Anyway, very nice set of pictures!!

Thanks! You're correct that it's about a 3 hour drive to Bloomington from Waterloo. I visited the Eagle Center in Wabasha a couple of years ago, but they have since built a new facility which I hear is really nice.

About posting events, problem is there's not really an appropriate place to post them. Since the Photo Sharing rules are supposed to be only for sharing photos, the only other place to mention things like that is in the General Chat area. But there it's easy to lose a post because of the variety of topics there. I do have a few suggestions for you though.

One is to visit the Events section at Camera Talk Minnesota. You have to register as a member to see that section. Also check out the Minnesota Birding Network mailing list. I get a lot of info there about sightings, events, etc. Here's another site about birding events in Minnesota. Seems to be quite up to date.

Some other websites of interest:

• http://colderbythelake​birding.blogspot.com/ - This blogger organized the Sax Zim Bog bird festival (see my photos here.)
  
• http://www.birdchick.c​om/ - Well known MN birder with a blog
  
• http://www.birding-minnesota.com/MN-Event.htm - Minnesota birding events, looks pretty up to date
  
• http://owlstuff.com/al​iceweblog.html - Organizer of the Houston Owl Festival. I highly recommend attending this, it's in southern MN (even closer to you!) and they have a dedicated owl photo shoot (see my photos here.)
  
• MN Raptor center events page. They have a fall raptor release also, not sure of the date but keep an eye out for it.

Excellent series.

Great shots Liz, especially the little Owl!

Greta series of shots . Really nice head shots.