It is a nine-hour drive over six mountain passes to reach the Coast. The trip’s interest is increased by the sight of roadside animals. Along with Mule Deer, various ages of Bald Eagle, and many passerines, were a few for which proximity and traffic allowed pictures.
A dozen female elk were seen grazing by the roadside near Manning Park. Here, two size up the biped.
Just east of Hope a Red-tailed Hawk sat in a tree. There were eagles farther along. Do they watch for road kill?
There were dozens of Trumpeter Swans grazing in a farmer’s field. The nicest shot was of two of them calling as they flew in to join the others.
Great pictures, thank you.
Michael, I had heard that you were now peeking at my blog. The world I present around Kootenay Lake must be very different than that of Vienna. The elk I showed here is not the same species that is called an elk in Europe. Our elk correspond to your red deer, while your elk correspond to our moose.
HI Alistair: red-tailed hawks commonly hunt from perches because they are relatively inefficient in flight due to the low length to width ratio of their wings. They feed heavily on small mammals such as rodents but life history studies reveal that they will also feed on carrion including road kills, especially in winter. While I have seen a lot of roadside red-tails, I have never witnessed one feeding on road kill, although I have seen a lot of road kill. So I don’t know if this carrion-feeding is more common in other geographic locations or I have just not been observant.
All the best over the Christmas season and I continue to enjoy your photos and observations.