Red Shouldered Hawk at Kinder Farm Park

It was a dark, dreary and cold morning, and I had an appointment in Severna Park at 9:00, so I headed to Possum Point, hoping to get in an hour or so of birding before heading that way. I had heard good things about Kinder Farm Park, which was quite close to my call, so I printed out the directions and left the house.
I took a few sunrise shots at Possum Point, but I didn’t see much in the way of birds. Kinder Farm Park is a nice find, with lots of habitat and paved trails. I found a very cooperative hawk and a few small birds, but nothing exciting. I will go back, however.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Sometimes the dawn colors are just amazing. I’m not a landscape photographer, but one of these days I’ll try this shot with a standard lens to get more foreground.

Deer

You’ll almost always find deer grazing in the tree farm near dawn.

Eastern Phoebe

The only birds moving early were Eastern Phoebes.

House Finch

House Finch

House Sparrow

House Sparrow

House Finch

A large, mixed flock of House Finches and House Sparrows was very active in the gardening area of the park.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

Red Shouldered Hawk

When I first saw this Red Shouldered Hawk, I thought he was a decoy because he let me get so close. I believe he’s staked out this area to feed on the large flocks of Sparrows nearby.

Blue Jay

Blue Jays were present in large numbers.

Chickadee

Chickadees often seem indifferent to the presence of the photographer.

Great Crested Flycatcher

This Great Crested Flycatcher has found a nice breakfast.