I missed the Wings on Wednesday post last week, so you’ll get more than one photo this week.  Cindy and I made a drive up Lucky Peak nearly to the top.  This VERY rugged drive is great for the views, the birds, and the wildflowers.  As we were coming back down and nearing Route 21, I saw a raptor flying along the hill on the left.  It turned out to be a pair of Red-tailed Hawks, being quite defensive of their nest with at least one chick in it.

(Note: I’m on vacation and have so lost track of time I posted “Wings on Wednesday” on Tuesday of this week. 🙂 )

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

The pair of adult hawks were constantly crying out, I intially thought because they were unhappy that we were there while they were hunting.  Here the female (assumption, based on it being the larger of the pair) appears to be moving in for a catch.

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

While I didn’t notice a disruption in the motion of the hunting hawk, clearly somewhere along the way she picked up a rodent for a meal.

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

The meal wasn’t for itself though.  I suspect that a lot of the warning cries we were hearing from the pair of hawks was not because of our presence in their hunting area, but because of our proximity to their nest.  Here the rodent is offered to the chick.  Notice that there are two adults in this picture – the male is just leaving.  It almost seemed like the female kicked him out.  He went to sulk on the power line a pole or two away from the nest.

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

These photos taken through the Lord’s provision – We wanted to rent a 7 or 8 passenger van while we were in Boise so we could take our four older grandsons with us on our outings, along with our daughter or son-in-law.  However, when I checked on renting a van, they were simply more than we could afford.  I decided instead to rent a 6-passenger car, even though that would mean we could only take 3 of the kids, since they are all too young to be in the front seat.  However, when we got to the rental agency at the Boise airport, the agent said they had not been able to rent as many SUV’s as they expected, and I could have one for only $5 a day more than the car I had reserved.  Hmmm.  7 passengers, high ground clearance, 18″ wheels…  I would not have been able to traverse the road in the passenger car that was part of my plans.  Thank you, Lord!