The wife and I were hanging out digesting our tofu when I noticed a bird that was much larger than the finches that had been hanging out on my neighbor’s windowsill in the last few days thanks to his new bird feeder. I am not an ornithologist (IANAO), but I believe that fuzzy little monkler above is a baby red tailed hawk. I am sure someone who knows more than me about birds will chime in and enlighten us. I am sorry for the quality of that image, it was taken through dirty glass that had the sun shining on it. I guess LA really does have a diverse bird population.
Update As Charlie pointed out in the comment, the bird appears to be a full grown kestrel. I didn’t mention it in the post, but the bird was obviously stalking the finches who quickly departed when the kestrel appeared.
I saw an osprey in marina del rey hanging out on the masts of the boats
I am a botanist, not an ornithologist, so i could be wrong.
but I think it is a kestrel
(see http://www.ownbyphotography.com/Kestrel.jpg )
It may not be a baby.. kestrels are pretty small. They are related to falcons. They sometimes eat small birds, which was probably the real reason it was near the bird feeder.
here is more info:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i3600id.html
It’s a male kestrel (part of the falcon family), and a very beautiful one at that!
here’s a good comparison between male and female kestrels.
That is AWESOME!
Kestrels are my fave bird of prey (MFBOP). They’re SOOOOO cute!!! Eeeeeeee!!!11