Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Resting Hawk


You might be wondering what this is in these tangled branches of this tree. This is a hawk. I happened to be in the middle of the forest, thinking there wasn't much animal activity, when all of a sudden this hawk flew onto this very high tree branch up the path from me.

He was so big that I was able to see him very clearly, even though he was so far away. This time I saw him better than the camera did. The only reason I'm even showing you this not so good photo is because I wanted you to be able to at least see something.

As soon as I saw this hawk land, the forest seemed to come alive! I heard all sorts of birds begin chirping and squawking. There was one kind in particular that sounded exactly like a squirrel. None of the other animals seemed to want to welcome this big bird into the forest. Imagine that!

None of this lasted for very long though. When I moved to get a little closer for a better shot, the hawk jumped into the air and flew off to my left. He quickly soared over the trees and was soon out of the forest. I hoped he would stop again, or at least circle back, but he was gone. I guess he was just stopping for a rest.

16 comments:

  1. I imagine a lot of the other forest creatures are not too happy with a hawk in the neighborhood, Ratty...they probably are looking for a place to to hide when one is around so I'm sure they were relieved when he took off!!!

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  2. Very cool shot of the hawk, good catch Ratty. We have a lot of them that like to hunt in the fields behind our house, they are amazing birds to see. Maybe you will get a second chance with this one. If this was a really large hawk it was probably a she instead of a he. I just recently did a little research on one I saw a couple of weeks ago and found that usually the female is larger than the male.

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  3. You're lucky to capture a picture of the hawk..It is really something to see.

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  4. I have not kept any hawk in my camera. It maybe too big to be loaded inside.
    How big is your camera?

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  5. I think any time one can get a picture of a hawk with a regular camera that it is great. nice silhouette of the beak too.

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  6. Oh yes... it's so thrilling to see a bird of prey all of a sudden.
    Two weeks ago, I was in the kitchen as my son ran into the other room, came back with my camera, and said: 'I think there is a sparrow-hawk in the appletree!'.
    And indeed there was. Because I wasn't using a tripod for my DSLR with 300 mm tele, the pic wasn't anything special, but all the same, I treasure it.

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  7. In the summer I always see a ton of these guys but it's always when I'm driving and don't have the chance to stop and try and get a picture.

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  8. That is a great picture of a hawk. Yup, other birds really don't like those hawks. I have seen some little birds all gang up and chase a hawk which is quite funny to watch. They are such bad birds but pretty.

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  9. I love seeing hawks. Every now and then we'll see them swooping over the tree tops. They are very majestic. Glad you were able to get a picture!

    Happy Wednesday,
    Jen

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  10. I'd be nervous too if I were the other animals there.
    Hawks are awesome to see, aren't they? But they are camera shy...I can only take far away pictures of them and use the zoom.

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  11. Hawks are beautiful birds to see. All the other critters make noise to warn each other. Can you blame them? Ha! Most of them would be a good morsel for that hawk. I'm surprised you didn't see the crows going after him. The crows here are the biggest noise makers when a hawk is around. Glad you got to see him Ratty and they are awesome when they fly off.

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  12. Hope next time you can catch closer and clearer pic of the eagle Ratty :)

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  13. This is one of those times when I'm sure those other forest creatures were happy that you invaded their turf! Your presence chased away a creature that views them as prey. My human loves hawks and likes hearing their cries - even though we live in the city, they come around to check things out sometimes - but they make me nervous. I always hope there are no small kittens around when I hear that distinctive shriek.

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  14. No doubt this hawk was scanning the horizon for a meal. The park was almost one squirrel short of a park full of rodents!

    Was this a red tail hawk?

    Bill;www.wildramblings.com

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