Saturday, November 28, 2009

Hiding in the Shadows

On one of our walks Hubby and I stood on a little bridge, looking to see if there were any birds in the creek below.
Turning around my eye barely caught sight of this hawk, perched in the shadows in the nearby willow. After downloading I tried to identifuy him. None of the hawks seemed right, none had banding like this on its breast, he was looking at me so I must have been viewing his front. Wrong, I finally realized I wasn't seeing his breast, it is his wing we see in this shot. He's looking over his red tinged shoulder.
He's a red shouldered hawk, brightened up here for better viewing. It was a neat experience to see him so close, about 15 feet away, in the wild.

Find more shadows at Hey Harriet.

19 comments:

Ralph said...

This hawk is almost camouflaged in this tree, the shadow making it really hard for the prey to see the predator at first glance. A stunning capture of a beautiful and large bird!

Carolyn Ford said...

Wow! What a capture of this hawk! The dappled shadows are wonderful...Wonderful capture!

Deb said...

Mmm. Wonderful, yes.

Hot Fudge said...

What a gorgeous bird and I can see how you were fooled into thinking you had discovered a new species. He does seem to be facing the camera at first glance, doesn't he?

Diane AZ said...

I like both the "hiding in shadows" and the brightened versions. Looks like he's wearing a beautiful cape.

A Wild Thing said...

I'm always trying to get hawk shots, but they're always one step ahead of me...moving with the speed of light out of my range.

Barb said...

He's finding you very interesting, Martha - great shot! Good Luck to your sons in the Marathon. Have fun with Michael.

Gaelyn said...

Nice sighting. Easy to be fooled by a bird looking over their red shoulder in the shadows.

Lindy said...

Very beautiful raptor!

Beverley Baird said...

What a great shot of the hawk! They are such majestic birds.

BLOGitse said...

What a beauty! good idea to have two pictures. We have huge crows here, never seen a hawk though...
ps. correct answer on my blog: a green Croc shoe :)

Merisi said...

He's looking at you! ;-)

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

I hear some birds (owls particurly) can turn their heads through nearly 300 degrees so they really can look behind them - no idea about hawks though.

wanderlust said...

Beautiful, how lucky for you to spot this!

Anonymous said...

fabulous photo!!

Chubby Chieque said...

What a lucky lady, you are seeing eye to eye of a wonderful hawk.

Outstanding!

Have a wonderful SS

storyteller said...

What sharp eyes you have! Wonderful photos of this hawk hiding in the branches ;-)
Hugs and blessings,
Small Reflections

Unknown said...

Love your SS! What a find, so close too! The colors and textures are beautiful in your photo.

PERBS said...

What a neat discovery! Great clos up too!