Wild Moment

I'm still sitting on a blog, waiting for the grand finish which has not happened yet... a moment I hope comes soon so I can complete the tale. Until then, here's a moment with a Red-tailed Hawk I had from last week.

I had gone out one morning for a walk. It was pretty dismal other than a couple Tree Sparrows and one Junco. In the distance I did see a pair of Red-tailed Hawks courting in the sky. It was like a dance. Ah yes, despite the calendar saying "January", things are starting to happen already with some of the birds. Love is in the air!

A third Hawk was in the area, a lone bird, and while it may not be getting some tail anytime soon, it did get something else, tail too, sort of...

This Hawk was flying much closer to my standing point than the pair.

First it lands in a tree near the parking area.

Letting me see it from various angles.

Then it drops to the ground and sat there for well over 10 minutes.

Then it takes flight even closer to where I was standing at the side of the road. My camera is awfully slow for flight shots in most scenarios.

it lands in the small ditch and suddenly pulls this out of the leaves!

I would have loved this photo if the fire hydrant wasn't in it. I was so in the moment, didn't even notice it.

It then takes flight to a nearby tree to feast on it's catch.

The meal was done in no time at all!

It was pretty amazing to see although at one point I did feel sadness for the animal it caught. But that is nature. Seldom do I ever experience anything like this. Here I thought my outing was going to be nothing more than a pleasant but cold walk with very few birds. This Hawk sure made up for it.

A couple construction workers took a moment out to enjoy this episode of "In the Wild" with me. They thought it was pretty amazing. One guy commented that they see Hawks all the time out in the fields wherever they work, but this was a first to see one catch a meal right there like that. I bet they will be watching the Hawks a little more intently in the coming weeks, eh?