Rattlenakes, pack rats, and red-tails

Well I have had an interesting few days.  Two days ago, I started counting red-tail hawks along my way.  I see so many different sub species, and they are all so numerous.  The first day I counted 55, all a variety, in addition to 11 harriers and 1 peregrine falcon.  Yesterday I counted over 150!  It was a really windy day and they were migrating in groups of 20-30.  Today was also a great migration day for red-tails.  I had well over 100, and saw some very interesting varieties.  Before I get to that, though, yesterday I came across a red-tail on a dirt road, standing in the road.  I thought maybe he was on a kill, but he just seemed to be standing there looking at something.  Then I thought he was maybe exhausted from migrating, or maybe even injured.  Here is a picture of what I saw.

If you look to the right of the hawk, you can see a little blob...I thought it was a snake, and I didn't know if the hawk had killed it yet.  I inched closer in my car, and eventually the hawk flushed.  I feel bad for ruining his dinner, but I gave him ample time to eat/kill it!   He flew away, not injured.  So I went to investigate his find and I found this:

western massasauga

the small, but still scary rattle (near Wilson State Park)

So after this I moved on and did a few more points, and got ready to camp at Wilson State Park.  I sleep in my car, usually, since it is a little chilly these nights.  A lot of nights, raccoons like to investigate my vehicle.  So, when I heard noises in the night I blamed it on coons and went back to sleep.  I was a little suspicious in the morning when I still heard it but didn't see the coons, but I started out driving anyways.  My transmission was a little jerky during gear shifts, but again I thought maybe it just needed to warm up.  When the check engine light came on, I pulled over, ready to check my transmission fluid.  I opened up the hood and found something similar to a christmas tree under my hood; some "critter" in the middle of the night, decided it was a good idea to stock pile eastern red cedar branches under my hood, in every little space.  I wish I could have seen the look on my face...I was appauled!  It wasn't funny until later.  I cleared out the cedar and upon further investigation found chewed wires.  The nearest town was 18 miles away so I dropped everything and headed for Beloit, KS to an auto repair shop.  They found even more damage that I couldn't see, including the chewed wire to the engine from tranni, another set of chewed off wires, and a chewed off vaccuum hose.  Not only did this critter chew them off, but he apparently ate them, as they were nowhere to be found.  Two hours later, I was on my way again.  The actual parts only cost $2 to replace, but of course labor was $58 an hour!  That was one expensive night of camping.  Apparently a pack rat (southern plains woodrat) was the culprit, and the car repair shop sees this all the time!  One time, a rat continued to live in a man's truck, and did this three times in three consecutive days!  Hopefully I don't have a passenger along...

Anyways, here are some of the interesting red-tails I have photographed over the last few days.  Alex has helped me ID them.

juvenile krider's hawk

adult western

pale adult light morph (of eastern variety)

another juvenile krider's

eastern red-tails in transition phase (seem exceptionally light, may have krider's in them?)

this one was flying with the bird above...over Glen Elder State Park

I have a few more counties left in Kansas, and I am trying to beat the rain that is coming in the next few days.  Hopefully I have no more pack rat set backs!!!