Thursday, November 10, 2011

A Waiting Hawk

My first wild animal in a new nature park! I said in my last post that I went to this new nature park without much expectation yet. All I really wanted to do was explore a bit and find my way around. Also having the dog with me was going to be a detriment to finding any new animals. But did that stop me?

No! While approaching the end of one of the many trails there I saw a huge bird leap from a nearby tree! The dog saw it at the same time as I did, and she was very excited. I tried to lift my camera to my face, but the dog kept pulling on the leash. This was going to be very difficult.

After I got Isabella calmed down, I spotted the bird at the top of another tree. I saw that the bird was a hawk, and it was just sitting there waiting. I couldn't believe how lucky I was that the bird had stopped close enough for me to actually get a picture or two.

This was only my first day at the new park and I had already gotten pictures of an exciting creature! This isn't the first hawk I've seen in this area, so I know I'll have more pictures of one of these majestic birds. It's just a matter of time.

I've seen many deer around here too. And I'm excited to find out if my deer calming techniques will work on them. I'm not sure how soon I'll get pictures of them, but I know I eventually will. I know there are many kinds of animals around here, so I'll have opportunities for many interesting creatures.

I wish I could get pictures at night. I walk Isabella every night. She has a bit of a weak bladder, so I have to do it. On one of my recent nighttime walks I heard the howls of coyotes going back and forth. And when I looked up into the night sky, I saw my very first shooting star! You don't get many opportunities for either of those in the city.

I'm slowly getting back to posting on the other two sites I'm involved with too. Emma and Copas have been keeping Nature Center Magazine going, and I now consider that site to be theirs as much as mine. You should take a look at some of their excellent articles.

I have a new story up on Rat Tales called "Fair". It's very different than anything I've ever done before. I have it categorized as horror, but it's maybe more of a dark fantasy story than horror. There are no ghosts or monsters in this story, but there are certainly some monstrous people. You may have met a few people that resemble some of the characters in this story.

Back to the hawk!

I tried to get a picture of this hawk taking off from the tree it was in, but the dog took that exact moment to pull on the leash again. Luckily I was able to get a few pictures of this big bird in flight. It was circling for quite some time, so I got to get a good look.

After a few minutes of watching the hawk, I decided that it was time to investigate some of the other trails. One of them went over the railroad tracks! I knew that might prove to be interesting. So I went on my way wondering what I might find next on my journey through this fascinating new park. Isabella seemed every bit as excited as I was.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, Ratty, and sky is so blue! That looks like a big hawk too.

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  2. Yesterday I was about to photograph a beautiful toadstool, when Sadie the German Shepherd came bounding up and squashed it flat. A walk is not the same without her along though.

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  3. Hey, how neat is that? What a great time you had at the park.

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  4. I try to feel the spirit of the hawk and love to watch them.Drop the leash and stand on it.

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  5. I'm glad you are finding new trails to walk ratty. Those hawk photos are beautiful!!

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  6. Great find! You and Isabella will have some great adventures.

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  7. I can't even imagine what it would be like, trying to take a photo while having a dog on a leash! You did quite well - I like hawks, from a distance.

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  8. How to differentiate hawk and eagle? I always mixed up between these two.

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  9. Isabella may need a website to express her excitement.

    She just cannot wait.

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  10. beautiful capture of the wild bird, hawks are very interesting, and the last shot is awesome with all the combination of colors.

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  11. Thanks for all your comments, everybody.

    @VanillaSeven
    I'll write about the differences between a hawk and an eagle in a future post. I used to know, but I can't remember anymore. I'll do some research about it for you though.

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  12. Oh wow! It's great that you and Isabella can spot all of these animals and birds together now. I hope she settles down so as not to scare them.

    I've had a hawk in our yard lately--he got a bird from the feeder. What a MESS!! Yikes, feathers everywhere. :( Poor bird.

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  13. Great pictures, Ratty. Maybe, in time, you can train Isabella to walk along with you and to sit and wait on command. That would free you up to take photos at your leisure.

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