Evening Hawk

I went hiking recently, in the afternoon.  It threatened rain, but did not deliver.  That was good.  But as my hikes usually go, I explored longer than originally intended.  I clammered up over a hilltop fully expecting to emerge in a certain meadow of which I know, and was surprised to realize that I was somewhere else.  Oh.

Luckily, the forest where I was walking is small enough that there was no danger I could ever really become lost, and I bushwhacked my way along the ridge and across a ravine.  I knew the sun would soon begin to set, and that, along with an already overcast sky, made the woods rather dreary.  At last I crossed a power line and came out in the right place.

Because I was in a hurry to cross the large meadow and avoid as many burrs and thistles as possible, my focus was no longer on looking for birds to photograph.  As a result, I missed seeing a large hawk that must have been perched very near to me, working on getting his last meal before nightfall.

As I "swam" through the tall grasses, I thought I saw something moving out of the very corner of my eye.  I almost disregarded it, but turned to check.  That's when I saw a very large bird flapping across the meadow, having just lifted off from a nearby tree. A hawk!

I had put my lens cap back on my lens, in order to keep it clear from the dust and bits of brittle plant material that can always be a problem.  As a result, I lost precious seconds removing it as the hawk flew past me.  I turned to track its flight and shot wildly.  (My personal mantra is, "Always take the shot.")

My photos are not great, but I was still pleased with them, because as you will see below, you can tell exactly what kind of bird this is.

This hawk was moving fast!

Having had his evening hunt disturbed by a bumbling human who made more noise than a heard of elephants and scared all the field mice away from miles around, this hawk quit the meadow for better hunting grounds.

So there you have it - my first red-tailed hawk where you can actually see the telltale red tail!  Compared to my usual sparrows and finches and cardinals, this was some pretty big game and I left the meadow with my heart soaring.  What a cool encounter!