On Christmas Day, Kathy and I were headed north for family gathering, but stopped by a local lake to see if anything was waiting to be photographed. As we pulled in to the parking lot, this hawk was in a small tree staring at us. I was able to get a window down and in position as the hawk left its initial perch and began to fly to another perch nearer to us. That landing is this shot.
That evening, I tried to identify this hawk, to no avail. I punted and sent a shot to a falconer friend, Brian Wood in Tucson, AZ. He put me onto learning all about Harlan’s hawks. One thing was true; Harlan’s hawks are skittish sorts as a rule, so close shots were rare.
Through the winter, I continued to run into this specific hawk. Never saw a mate, but this bird had foraging patterns that helped me get to know it. Kathy and I met a birder and her husband in the field, and she had seen the Harlan’s as well. Looking closer at some of the photos, this birder noticed a nick in one of its primary feathers. We also noticed one of its tail feathers missing. Both markers gave us the tell to know when we were dealing with the same bird.
I named this bird LP7 as the winter developed, due to the notch in its left seventh primary feather. He stuck around into early April. LP7 gave me a chance to admire and be thankful for relationship with a wild world whose range from Canada to West Texas crossed my path…and now yours.
LP7
Harlan’s hawk doing winter in Lubbock, TX