Two Great Birds of Prey Surprises~

Thank you all so much, yes, I am alive and hopefully well!

I say hopefully because for the first time in living on these 2 plus acres for 32 years, I have had 7, yes, SEVEN DEER TICKS, embedding themselves on me in the last week as well, as 2 Wood Ticks, which can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and I am on preventative medication of Doxycycline for a week.  
We are hoping and praying of course that none of the 7 Deer Ticks carried the dreaded Lymes Disease bacteria.  
Between photographing the Red-Shouldered Hawk nest for this season ( Oh my and that is another story, coming soon, for my 4 years blogversary presentation...whew I took just over 4, 000 images since February 27 th and I am still not done...coming soon!), and fencing in a smaller, more accessible area for the dogs, I must have gotten into a mass of these bad bugs!  
I slather myself always in Skin So Soft and also spray on Cutter.  
The grass is kept mowed and yet, I still managed to gather them on, one, or even two at a time, just plain awful!  
One of the sites was infected, but we are watching all bite areas, for any bulls-eye ring to form, a rash, or other symptoms which can take a couple of weeks to determine.  
I am so not desiring any of those symptoms and so I remain calm in my thinking!

I recently joined the Beckhem Bird Club.  
I knew that I would not be able to attend their meetings, but wanted to get their alerts to neat birds to photograph.  
Well, I got no alerts, but a letter stating that a group of them had gone to Cave Hill Cemetery and had viewed 2 down covered Owlets back the first week in April.  
Hmm, and how come I never knew about that? 
That was fine...I know Cave Hill very well and after viewing the recent great Horned Owl nest near us, I knew what to look for.  
There was only 2 problems...Cave Hill Cemetery is HUGE and the green of Spring was in full foliage.  
I went anyway!

So I drove around aimlessly in search of a very large nest, that would more than likely not be visible.  
Just when I was about to give up, I heard them, lots of them...Red-Shouldered Hawks and American Crows, and they were angry!
I drove in the direction of the noise, for I know that they will mob young Owlets.
As I got out of my car, I could see several birds circling the top of a very large tree and there she was...the female great Horned Owl.  
I took as many photographs of her as I could, standing nearly under her, and never being noticed, for she was far too busy protecting her nest, her young, but where was the nest, where were the young...which tree...
I had to leave, but a couple of days later, I drove the nearly 35 miles back to Cave Hill, for I was on a mission, I was going to find those 2 Owlets.  
As I stood in the area where the adult female had been and the morning's sunlight was beginning to impart the tree branches and then I saw it, movement and right where the coppery light from the sun shown through the branches, just as if it was meant to be, I spotted 2 gorgeous Great Horned Owlets.  
One was much larger, the female, and then the male on the right.  
Yeah, I had found them, even without the help of the BBC...not to be confused with the BBC ;')
Then right before my eyes, one of them took it's first flight and once again the Hawks were on high pitched alert.  
I followed their yells by car, some few acres away to a tree that was so big, one could have built an entire home from the wood.  
Once, I saw that the young Owlet was safe against the trunk and a large branch, and knowing that the parents were near by, I drove back to check on the single Owlet, still resting near the nest, and what a great nest it had been for them too.

About two weeks later, I had a call in to the gentleman with Wingspan of Kentucky about Peregrine Falcons and he shared with me about a young eyas falling from a nest of a Red-Shouldered Hawk and that she had 2 still in the nest.
I decided to drive over for a look-see.  
The R-S Hawks that I follow always place their nests up very high, so one can only imagine my surprise and alarm, when I saw how close I actually was to this hen, when I came around her nest tree.  
I do not know who was more surprised, but she was not happy to see me and I got my few images and then ducked away back into the protection of my car.  

So these were my surprises and I hope that you enjoy them.

I will try and take better care of myself and hope that you all are doing well also~

 

 

I am linking up with Stewart at:

Wild Bird Wednesday

(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)

 

 

The sunlight's coppery glow and a slight movement of preening, gave me the images that I had so hoped to see, 2 gorgeous Great Horned Owlets!

 

 

It was time, it was meant to be, me being present for one of the Owlets to make it first flight...beautiful!

 The Red-Shouldered Hawks were in hot pursuit, but I knew the Great Horned Owls were near by, watching~

The one Owlet remained in nest tree, looking in the direction of where the other had flown, into this huge, amazing looking tree, a few acres away~

And one beauty remained..is that sunlight, not just perfect...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh My, so that is what you look like when you are very angry...
OK, well enough photographs, I get the picture!

 

 

In case you have not seen them...here are 3 of the 7 Deer Ticks that had embedded themselves on my person. 

They are extremely tiny and yet, oh so bad.

One can hardly fit on the head of a straight pin~