The sexual tensions between pairs of red-tailed hawks was palpable today. They were either paired up on light posts or females were on the nest while a male was perched nearby keeping watching. I passed this particular nest in a ravine just off of a county road in Hastings, MN. I got out to get a photo of the bird facing the road in the morning light, only to discover my battery dead in my Nikon D40--DOH! I ended up hand holding my point and shoot Canon Camera and got a reasonably good photo. I will definitely need to come back and get another photo before the leaves come out.

After my time on the Outdoor Talk show, I was driving home and chuckled when I stopped at the end of the exit for Hwy 7 off of southbound Highway 100. Just to the upper right of the traffic signal is a red-tailed hawk nest. It's a long light, so I took a crappy photo with my cell phone. I had time to scan with binos and could see a red-tailed hawk head sticking out of the nest. I imagine this is going to be a distracting place when the young learn to fly.