oh, the gopher picture in particular is delightful. as is its title, albeit in a very different way, *snicker*.
sorry, not much help on the raptor. could be an immature, too, right? it doesn't look like a fully grown golden eagle; it's not dark enough, and it doesn't have the right leg feathers, and it just overall doesn't say "eagle" to me. its head is too dark to be an adult red tailed hawk; they have a white throat, a mottled chest, and a white belly. merlins have a more mottled belly. i think your guess of red shouldered hawk comes closest to my internal image of what they look like -- but i am by far no raptor expert; just a casual watcher of them.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Raptors and smaller creatures
sorry, not much help on the raptor. could be an immature, too, right? it doesn't look like a fully grown golden eagle; it's not dark enough, and it doesn't have the right leg feathers, and it just overall doesn't say "eagle" to me. its head is too dark to be an adult red tailed hawk; they have a white throat, a mottled chest, and a white belly. merlins have a more mottled belly. i think your guess of red shouldered hawk comes closest to my internal image of what they look like -- but i am by far no raptor expert; just a casual watcher of them.