Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Isabella says, "Happy Friday!"
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Oh she is truly lovely

 

[RoyalChick]

You can't tell chicken breeds apart how are you going to do raptors?

Seriously though I just look for large birds with light colored bottoms and dark tops. Those are our raptors.

I don't have a hope in hell of identifying them - but I thought maybe if I could learn dangerous vs. not it would help me be a better protector.

 

[BY Bob]

Wonderful pics! Who is that first pic?

They are all the same hen, Sansa. Something was very wrong with Sansa and when she molted in September her feathers did not grow back properly. That first picture is Sansa after her molt.

 

[BY Bob]

I don't have a hope in hell of identifying them - but I thought maybe if I could learn dangerous vs. not it would help me be a better protector.

Dark on top, light on bottom = dangerous

 

[RoyalChick]

"From a distance a soaring Turkey Vulture might look like a Red-tailed Hawk, but Turkey Vultures have longer, more rectangular wings, which the birds hold above horizontal, forming an easily visible V. Turkey Vultures are also much less steady when they soar."
Good comparison pictures & info of Red-Tail vs Turkey Vulture, both have visible separate feathers on the wing tips:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/species-compare/60317261

Very helpful and I now know more of what to look for.
I think this one was a Turkey Vulture - it definitely had a 'V' to how it held its wings.

 

[RoyalChick]

Dark on top, light on bottom = dangerous

I got that - but how do I ever see the top?!

 

[featherhead007]

I got that - but how do I ever see the top?!

Get an view from above the bird …. 🛩 (Just a few ideas)

 

[featherhead007]

Nope, it didn’t work having Hen-Rietta roosting up by herself. I went out to check on them, and she was sitting low, tail down, her head hanging low, looked so sad, I asked her if she wanted to come inside with me? I put up my arm, she gladly stepped right up on it. Now she’s resting on my chest, her head snuggled against my neck. Ah heck, why not!! Everyone needs a little comfort sometimes.

 

[micstrachan]

Isabella says, "Happy Friday!"
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So beautiful! Buff Brahma?

 

[BY Bob]

I got that - but how do I ever see the top?!

As they tilt while circling you can see the difference.