Yellowstone raptors

The hawks and eagles in Yellowstone are all over the place (technical term). We saw more ospreys than chipmunks, to the point where they just stopped being an attraction. We saw bald eagles almost every day, too. The area where we saw the most variety of raptors was actually just outside of the park, around Hebgen lake, where we had rented a cabin. Kestrels there were as numerous as pigeons, most of the other pictures in this post are from that area too:

Bald Eagle (no introduction needed!)


Swainson's Hawk:


Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk:


Peregrine Falcon:


Immature Bald Eagle:


Osprey (before fishing):


Osprey (after fishing):

Adult western Red-Tailed Hawk:



Red-Tailed Hawk vs American Kestrel:


Sharp-Shinned Hawk:


American Kestrel:


Juvenile Bald Eagles:


I am going to call this one a Golden Eagle. It was large, and its tail is longer than a bald eagle's. But it's hard to tell since it was flying against the sun.