The Harris's are coming to dinner - Fly by

shawnc

This beautiful Harris's Hawk flew in to Harass the nesting GBH.
25 + GBH nesting in one tree, Mass Hysteria when this Hawk fly's by.
I believe every bird left the tree at once.
McCormick Ranch, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Thought I would add a few more images

joshhuntnm

Magnificent bird!

kdog

Nice shots, Shawn. Love the close-up details of this beautiful bird. Was it by itself? The reason I ask follows.

I've had a couple of occasions to photograph a group of hawkers who used Harris Hawks to catch rabbits in the desert. Harris' are very unusual in that they will hunt cooperatively in small groups. A single Harris hawk stands little chance of catching a jack rabbit because they move fast and erratically and quickly seek cover. But a group of them can coordinate a strategy to flush the rabbit out into the open so that one of them can come from the opposite direction to take the rabbit down. They're even smart enough to chase the rabbit in a direction where the designated assassin comes straight out of the the sun so the rabbit can't see it coming. And they actually coordinate all this in real time by whistling and calling to each other. It was really an amazing thing to witness and I've had a real fondness for these birds ever since.

shawnc

This Harris's Hawk was a Lone Ranger on this flyby expedition. Tonto must have been hiding in the trees.
I assume...He/She is part of a pair I saw roosting the week prior. I had heard they were Strategic hunters.
The folks that live next to this single tree rookery (how they stand the continuous chatter, who knows),
told me that during nest building they will temporarily abandon the nest when these hawks fly by.
Once they have eggs and chicks, they will stand their ground against these Sky Raiders.
I have been back every Saturday morning for several hours watching and snapping.
Hard to get shots of the "Bert & Ernie" chicks, though a few have shown their faces.