The Story
This Crane Hawk (Geranospiza caerulescens) perched in the canopy at the Yahuarcaca lakes outside Leticia, in Amazonas, Colombia, near the San Sebastián community, its gray plumage and red eyes standing out against the green. It lives in tropical lowlands at forest edges and is almost always found near water, probably moving locally as water levels change. It often hunts by scanning from a perch or on the wing and swooping down to grab prey, and it builds its nest high in the canopy, often in clumps of orchids or other epiphytes. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/180 sec, f/11, ISO 3200, −1 EV. Communities on the Yahuarcaca lakes, such as San Sebastián and La Playa, manage their fishing under community agreements backed by the Conservar Paga payment-for-conservation programme.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Crane Hawk (Geranospiza caerulescens) belongs to the family Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List