Here in Rhode Island we have been enjoying summer-like weather for the past 10 days. I have been taking advantage of these warm, sunny days on the bike path. It was so hot on Wednesday that there was very little wildlife activity. My camera just hung at the side of my bike. Due to an appointment, Thursday's ride began later than normal, but the temperature had begun to come down a bit and quite a few birds were visible. I started my ride at 11:30 and about 3 miles into my trek, I a saw a hawk flying along the railroad tracks only about 5 feet from the ground. He flew just past me then landed on the fence running parallel to the tracks. I immediately stopped, grabbed my camera and extended the zoom lens. Taking several shots, I slowly approached the hawk. I stopped, took a few more photos then continued to slowly approach until I was about 20 feet away from him. He just sat there and looked at me, even briefly turning away as I walked towards him. He didn't seem to be afraid or threatened by me or the camera. It was as if he was posing for me. I was preparing to go even closer, but a jogger came by and the hawk flew away. But it was so exciting for me to be able to get this close, even for just a few minutes!
Those are some great shots of a hawk. The yellow eyes are striking. I think that means it's a juvenile. The first image would be a good reference photo for a drawing. We see them a lot out here but I've never been able to get a good photo.
ReplyDeleteI have seen them flying around and even saw one once high up in a tree, but this is by far the closest I have gotten. And this is with a basic point and shoot Fuji with a zoom lens. I'd love to see you do a drawing of it, your artwork is wonderful! It looked pretty big, but again, I have never gotten that close to any before.
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