Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating...

I had one of those days when I went out at lunch time to get a few nature blips. I shot quite a few baylands and shorebird candidates. But, just when I was packing it up to leave, I accidentally flushed this young hawk out from under a bridge. I followed him around and realized that he had caught a ground squirrel for lunch and was trying to evade me. As he looked for a safe place to chow, I snapped away. I have him in flight, on the street, on the roof of a building, but this one in the grass with the light won the blip for today from me.

Yes, for those queezy ones out there, "poor squirrel." However, I have to say that these types of predators are necessary to keep the population somewhat in control. It's nature's way.

For those of you birding experts, this is an adolescent hawk. In this part of California, you always ask yourself, "What doesn't make it a Red-tailed Hawk?" This one had me fooled for awhile, mostly due to the feathering on the legs, but also the colors. I will ask my expert friend at Audubon tomorrow, but I"m fairly sure it's an adolescent Red-tailed Hawk. Probably a little over a year old.

Enjoy Large with Caution!

Another image on folio - not for the light of heart...

Post Script: Confirmed by a local Audubon expert - a female adolescent Red-tailed Hawk.