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| Another reminder of what a good purchase our Canon has proven to be (click to enlarge to check out the detail; tongue is particularly striking) |
Roy got up close and personal with a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk during a recent drive around the marsh. When I saw the photos that showed just how close, I thought it definitely warranted a share.
The story started while Roy was checking on a pump. As he dropped a foot out of the truck, he noticed the nearby raptor struggling to gather a recent kill -- some type of a decent-sized snake. As the bird awkwardly lifted off the dike, prize "in hand," the snake slipped from its talons and fell into the nearby vegetation. Several quick attempts to right the ship (while simultaneously trying to rebound the juggled prize) resulted in the hawk on its back in a few feet of dense plant material . . . and in a few inches of water.
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| The thick mass of hibiscus, smartweed, and beggars tick may have provided a soft landing, but the young hawk almost looked sheepish trying to regain its balance, its composure, and its meal |
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| The plant growth was so dense that the bird literally couldn't get air under its wings; its posture suggests it was feeling pretty threatened as Roy approached to try to help |
Roy gave the hawk a couple minutes to find its footing. But with the snake now abandoned, the bird became more preoccupied with its own safety than its meal. Feeling bad that he disturbed an afternoon snack and that the hawk couldn't seem to get back on the wing, Roy gently extended the tines of a garden rake (protected by some rubber that he had just modified to slip over the end of the tool). The bird readily accepted the helping hand, and Roy was able to easily transfer the bird from the end of the rake to the end of a nearby cottonwood limb.
After another minute of sizing each other up at close range, Roy went back to his work. When he came back to check on his new friend a few minutes later, the hawk was gone. The bird may have lost some dignity, but the good news was (1) it seemed no worse for the wear, and (2) there are plenty more snakes in the marsh where that one came from!