We went to the farm ponds on Christmas morning. On the way there, on Highway 24, we saw a northern harrier, the second in as many days. An adult red-shouldered hawk was also perched on a wire. Didn't get a picture of them.
After turning on to McAdams Road, we saw this little American Kestrel. It was closer to me at first, but my camera wasn't set up yet to get a better picture.
Then this huge immature hawk was flying around the ponds. I thought it was an immature red-tail, but several people on the bird forums I'm a part of say it's an immature red-shouldered. They gave all their reasons, and I will take their word. Immature hawks are very hard to identify, at least for me.
And finally, another kestrel was perched on a wire on Prater Farm Road. I still didn't get a good pic, but this at least captures it.
We saw a few other birds also. This Northern Shoveler was the only duck in the ponds.
This was the picture of the morning. This male kingfisher beautifully posed for me on the Highway 253 bridge. Fortunately no cars were behind us, so I was able to get a couple of great shots.
And here is the enlarged version after cropping the picture at home.
