Other large birds in Indy

We have a captive Bald Eagle at the Indianapolis Zoo. Her name is "Lady". She had a broken wing due to being shot, was captured and rehabilitated, and now lives at the zoo. The nature of her injury left her unable to fly or hunt, so she was sent to the zoo to be cared for and protected. We have other eagles living in the wild in the Indy area. One was seen several times last year, visiting the eagle exhibit at the zoo.

Here's a picture of Lady that I took a couple years ago.



In the wild, we also have Turkey Vultures and hawks, to name but two of the more common species. I happened to see a Cooper's Hawk swoop down into my backyard one afternoon and take a Grackle - all in (literally) the blink of an eye. It's worth noting that a Cooper looks very similar to a Peregrine, although they have much different markings on their head their body coloration is pretty close. It's easy to mix up the two (as I originally had done). Peregrines almost always take their prey in flight, which the Cooper will attack prey on the ground.

Here's a Turkey Vulture, gliding on thermals.


The photo below is most likely a Red-tailed Hawk, and was seen near Seymour, Indiana.



The Great Blue Heron is also found frequently, always along water ways such as the White River, where this one (below) was photographed.



Easily one of the most spectacular sights is the spring and fall migration of thousands of Sandhill Cranes. While they mainly gather at the Jasper-Pulaski wildlife preserve in northern Indiana, I have seen large flocks of them circling over downtown Indianapolis.