This hawk, which I believe to be an immature red-shouldered hawk, visited our yard in late November. The first image of it, still fluffed up from the over night chill, was the closest that I was able to get...
The remaining images are from a distance of roughly 100 yards taken with a 600mm lens...
Our yard is loaded with birds of all types and numerous squirrels, always after the sunflower seeds that we put out.
I waited expectantly for the hawk to select a victim to have for breakfast. Finally, it swooped to the ground as I tracked it through the viewfinder...
When it landed I could not see anything that resembled intended prey nearby...
It began searching the ground intently...
It snapped to attention, apparently having seen or heard something of interest...
It then began walking several yards towards the object of it's interest...
Next came some attempts to isolate or capture something...
I was surprised when it picked up what looks like a grub, a form of insect larvae...
I remember once watching a red-shouldered hawk fly down to eat a nightcrawler, so I suppose this is not uncommon behavior.
Thanks for visiting, be well, and come back soon.
Happy New Year To All
As always, excellent photography. Look forward to your posts. Have a wonderful holiday season to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. How could he have known it was there?
ReplyDeleteThey have vision that we can only dream about.
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