Would you believe it, that these photos were shot with a smartphone through an eye hole of a set of binoculars?
I apologize for the shaky appearance..
Because that is exactly what was done to obtain these photos of this local predator. Wasn't the simplest of tasks, but with what I had available I'd say these photos of the beast turned out decent enough.
A beautiful brown patterned coat with blue beak and feet and brown eyes..
Without digital zoom, looking through the eye piece of the binocular
Of course I tapped on the window to try and get the bird of prey to look over and it did sure enough. Boy would it be cool to catch and train one of these bad boys to hunt for squirrels or to deliver papers.. haha.. I'm sure there are regulations prohibiting me from doing so, since its not something to be taken so lightly but right now I am simply taking a photo.
The bird appears to be healthy, so it must be handling this Winter pretty well. We are set for some snow this evening and Saturday into Sunday. And then again some snow on Wednesday of next week. Perhaps in the distant future I can build all the required structures and setup to accommodate such a raptor. It would be neat to hunt with a bird of prey like this. I would certainly not lose interest, since it would provide a source of food for our family... and especially in times of need.
After reading over the state laws and regulations.. it is not something I am game for right now. Especially not with a baby boy on the way in two months..
Stay safe y'all!