Be Like Mike

My friend Mike says carry your camera you never know when the opportunity for a picture might present itself. So for the past few weeks I have done my best to be like Mike.

Last year we planted over 500 trees in the pasture at the bottom of the hill behind our house. Tuesday I went down to walk around and check those trees and do some mowing. On the way down on the tractor I stopped to take a picture of the hawk nest that was home to a family of red tailed hawks last year. I thought I saw some movement and was hoping we had baby hawks again.

I snapped a few shots. I didn't have my glasses and the screen on the camera is small so I didn't know what I had, if anything. When I took my break for lunch I took a look and was disappointed to find that all I had were pictures of a nest. No hawks. I knew there was a nest somewhere because a female red tail hawk kept circling overhead screeching at me. She never landed in the trees anywhere and I couldn't locate where she might roost. After lunch I went back to work taking a quick glance at the nest as I drove by on the tractor. It is a strange thing, animals and tractors. It seems as the day goes by and you continue with the routine work of the day the animals pay less and less attention to you and the tractor. At 5:00 p.m. I was tired and hot. The daytime high had reached 90 degrees for the first time this year and my get up and go was gone. I headed up the hill on the tractor and realized I had left my camera and water on the ground by the fence. I went back to get them and as I went back up the hill I noticed the female hawk was standing on the side of the nest.

I kept the tractor running and stayed on the seat hoping to get a few good shots of her. I have found that if you get off the tractor the wild critters get alarmed and flee. If you stay on usually they stay put. Mike is also right about another thing. We are old, sorry Mike but it's true, and film used to cost too much to take multiple shots. The great thing about digital photography is no expense other than batteries. I figured if she would sit still for a photo shoot I would take several shots hoping for something special. Thanks for more great advice Mike.

I didn't have my glasses on and did not realize that from my second shot on there was a baby hawk on the nest to the left of mother  hawk.

So, keep that camera at the ready. New batteries close at hand. A good photo editing program is also helpful. The first picture was as it came off the camera. The last two were cropped and zoomed. While they are a bit grainy and the lighting could be better I did the best I could with the tools I have. The pictures were taken in the late afternoon facing west into the bright sun. You will note in every shot that mother hawk is paying full attention to what I am doing. I will try to get more pictures over the next few weeks until this little fella leaves the nest. Maybe there is a bother or sister in there like last year.