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Nature’s aces perform a mid-summer air show
Some of the best aerial performers are displaying their flying skills, and in many cases, you don’t have to leave the backyard to view them. Many of our area birds, in their everyday activities, put on a flying display that rivals what you could see at an air show. Watch as some of these feathered aviators are captured in flight.
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| TRR photo by Scott Rando | |
| A pair of newly fledged bald eagles engage in mock aerial combat over the Delaware River. Notice that the top pursuing eagle’s tail is angled nearly 90 degrees out of its normal position; this is aiding the pursuer in quickly transitioning from a level hard left bank to a steep dive in order to chase its sibling, already diving at the bottom of the frame.
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| TRR photo by Scott Rando | |
| This light morph red-tailed hawk seems to glow in the early morning sunlight. It is banking steeply, and all 12 tail feathers can be seen plainly in it’s fully spread tail. Hawks, as well as other birds, will frequently spread their tail for increased maneuverability as well as extra lift when landing. The red-tailed hawk is the most common hawk in our region.
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| TRR photo by Scott Rando | |
| This ruby-throated hummingbird hovers near a feeder in Shohola, PA. Notice that the primary flight feathers of a hummingbird wing mesh smoothly compared with a soaring hawk or other raptor, where the fifth through 10th primaries form “fingers” on the wing tips. The smooth, narrow wings of a hummingbird are well suited for the 40 to 80 wing beats per second required for precision hovering flight.
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