Natural born killer... I have seen many large birds of prey up close but only the gaze of a Goshawk has ever filled me with dread!
This girl is a falconer's bird used to hunt grouse and other game on the hills above Loch Awe. I rarely take images of captive wildlife but we were visiting the owner of this bird as my wife was purchasing a Briittany puppy from him. The chance of photographing a Goshawk up close was too good an opportunity to miss and her owner kindly allowed me to take some images. An incredible bird that can never be truly tamed.
Wild Goshawk became extinct in Scotland due to persecution but have since re-colonised. They are secretive birds that favour extensive conifer forest which makes it difficult to assess the true wild population however many of these birds are thought to be descended from escaped falconer's hawks which are usually of Central European origin.
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Africa (entire continent rather than south of Sahara)
AN
Antarctica
AO
Atlantic Ocean
AU
Australasia (Wallacea (Indonesian islands east of Wallace's line), New Guinea and its islands, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands, the Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu)
PAL
Eurasia (Europe, Asia from the Middle East through central Asia north of the Himalayas, Siberia and northern China to Japan)
IO
Indian Ocean
LA
Latin America (Middle and South America)
MA
Middle America (Mexico through Panama)
NA
North America (includes the Caribbean)
NO
Northern oceans
OR
Oriental Region (South Asia from Pakistan to Taiwan, plus Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Greater Sundas)
