"A Sand County Almanac"

"THERE ARE SOME WHO CAN LIVE WITHOUT WILD THINGS AND SOME WHO CANNOT."
"FOR US IN THE MINORITY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE GEESE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TELEVISION.".....Aldo Leopold




"LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE, AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BETTER".....Albert Einstein


“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves”.....John Muir


Sunday, March 2, 2014

Red-tailed Hawk, How Close Is Too Close?

I came upon this young Red-tailed Hawk recently.  The fact that it allowed me to park within 30 yards, lower my window and take several photos, indicated to me that it was not alarmed by my presence...


In the next photos, it looks directly at me, and then proceeds to preen and groom itself as if I were not there...




When it did decide to take wing, it was not to leave, but rather to swoop down on a potential meal.  Probably a vole, or something similar, that was not visible to me...


In the next photo it is hopping into the air, trying to shake the victim loose from the grass and weeds that it also grabbed in its' talons when it pounced...


It seems that the inexperienced hawk lost its' meal in the attempt to sort it from the grass and weeds...


The hawk then flew up onto an overhanging limb and continued to scan the ground for other potential meals...




The hawk looked at me once more as I zoomed in for a close up of this beautiful bird...




I stayed for a few more minutes, before leaving the hawk to its' hunting.  At no time did I feel that I was interfering with the natural behavior of the bird.  My point is that wildlife bumps up against humans frequently and each encounter is different.  I believe that disturbing wildlife unnecessarily is not a good idea, but I also that feel that each instance must be evaluated as it evolves.
 
Thanks for visiting, stay well, and stop back soon.

4 comments:

  1. Stunning close-up work Steve, and I agree completely; if the hawk was comfortable enough to preen you were not disturbing it in the least.

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    1. Thanks, Coy. You can't believe the grief I have heard since the article on the hand-clapping woman appeared in the Lancaster paper. I knew there were folks with extreme opinions out there but I wasn't expecting so much ruckus. Some folks wonder why I don't take people pictures, they must be kidding! At least wildlife can't complain that the photographer made them look fat or ugly or whatever.

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  2. Great Pics Steve! I live in Frederick and I go to wild bird and garden (Harvey owns the store) Are you the one that has the Bluebird pics at his store?

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    Replies
    1. I doubt that they are mine, I have never been to the store.

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