... with his hawkish good looks...

...the young red-tailed hawk shook his bird-fist at us when we interrupted his lunch.

Okay, go ahead and look at him in LARGE - I dare you!

We decided to to to High Point State Park, in the northern tip of NJ, instead of the botanical garden today because High Point is closer, only about a half hour to 40 minutes. And, as our reward, when we started out on the 2.3 mile Cedar Bog trail, we startled a juvenile red-tailed hawk on the path ahead of us. He would fly just a little ahead, and we'd catch up with him, then he'd fly again. Finally he flew away and we continued our stroll. About 5 minutes later, he erupted from the undergrowth in the forest about 20 feet from us and landed in a branch where he sat and glared at us. We came to realize that we'd startled him as he'd been feeding on a kill, so we took some shots then left him to his meal. I've id'd him as a juvenile red-tail because his tail feathers are still mottled brown, not red. Whatever his age, though, he was a right beauty and it was thrilling to be able to watch him watching us. This is probably as close as I've ever been to a hawk in the wild. To see another view of him, click HERE
and see a close up here.

The rest of our walk was fairly uneventful, although we did see an adorable little chipmunk, perfectly lit by the sunlight coming through the trees. And a beautiful Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly posing on a giant fern frond. We also saw some gorgeous wild Pink Lady's Slippers along the boggy areas. I'm not sure, but I believe they may be a carnivorous plant - maybe someone knows?

We're having our neighbor's from across the Lane over for hamburgers tonight. Mixed up some special seasoning for the meat, and we'll grill the burgers and dine al fresco. Of course, there will be a suitable amount of wine/beer...'

Happy Sunday! And thanks for the lovely comments on my flirtatious fritillaries yesterday!