Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Beyond Hummingbirds

Starting last Friday, during The May Queen's birthday present opening, this hawk has been hanging out in our backyard (and neighboring yards)

We haven't seen him successfully hunt anything yet, but we're hoping to. Wonder what he's after. We're fairly certain The May Queen is too large for him to carry off, although he did return during her birthday party. 9 little children running around. Quite a feast!

(to all you fabulous photographers who I know are out there: I'm brand new to this fancy camera thing, and I'm getting weird purple coloring along white and/or black parts of the photographs. is that a white balance thing? how do I keep that from happening?)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

beautiful.

we haven't seen most of our "regulars" since we had our yard and woods all torn up. Maybe when we start feeding again (soon, it's getting cold) they'll come around.

ewe are here said...

What a beautiful bird! and those wings!

Melissa said...

He's a handsome devil! Maybe he's after the hummingbirds? :)

MARY G said...

He could be a juvenile with that colouring and if he is, he may not have caught anything because he is a novice hunter. The sharp shins and red shouldered hawks we have here lurk until they can get a good run at a prey bird at the feeder; if they sit around to be photographed, the feeder birds all go and hide.

You've got some splendid shots of him. Regarding the purple, where was the sun in relation to what you were aiming at? If the purple is along the edge of something, you could have an aperture priority set that's allowing too much light in. You can adjust your white settings on the fly in most cameras. Check your manual and take three identical shots at three settings to see if that makes a difference.

Bea said...

A hawk! I've got goosebumps. Very auspicious.

Magpie said...

I love hawks. So cool. We've got some red-tailed hawks around here. We watched one do in a squirrel one day. And this summer there was a juvenile around.

Beck said...

Gorgeous...

flutter said...

Holy gorgeous!

Mary Beth said...

Beautiful, beautiful shots! I hope your hummingbirds have moved on to safer pastures.

Amy Y said...

He's fantastic!!!
I bet he's after mice.

Unknown said...

How cool is that. If he's after mice, that's great. One less critter you have to worry about getting into your garage and house.

Beautiful pics.

Sarcasta-Mom said...

Your pictures are stunning for a self-proclaimed novice.

Kat said...

What a gorgeous bird! Though I must admit I'd be devestated if I saw it catch it's prey. I know the bird has to eat too, but I just don't want to see it. ;)

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Oh WOW He IS a beauty. Definitely set a custom white balance (you can do it in camera or if you shoot in raw you can fix afterwords in your processing software).

Louise said...

Great hawk pictures! I periodically have a hawk that comes to my bird feeder area--hoping to catch one of those smaller birds. I saw it dive into a shrub after one, but it didn't catch it. I've never been able to get pictures as close as yours, however. Very nice!

Girlplustwo said...

some think hawks are spirit animals. one place i quickly checked said this:

HAWK - is the messenger. It is also about visionary power and guardianship, the hawk is very protective of the young in its nest. It teaches us about providing for family and self. Hawk teaches us to be observant and to pay attention to what we may overlook. This could mean a talent we don't use, a blessing for which we haven't expressed gratitude, or a message from Spirit. The hawk has keen eyesight, it is about opening our eyes and seeing that which is there to guide us.

thirtysomething said...

What a beautiful and magnificent creature the Hawk is. I am intrigued with what it symbolizes. I have an interest in what it means when certain animals cross our paths - especially repeatedly or for long periods.
Thanks for dropping by today!

Aliki2006 said...

We once had our pet bunny running around our porch and a huge hawk appeared, sighting him from overhead. It was pretty creepy...

Emily said...

How bizarre.

We've had a nesting pair of Golden Eagles flying around our house. They're amazing to watch. Always, always when they are flying around, there are half a dozen little birds dive bombing them from above. (Like the eagles couldn't whip out some Top Gun-esque flip straight from the danger zone and eat those little birds in a hot minute.)

Also, thanks for noticing my new photo. It was taken in Long Beach. I thought of you when I put it up.

Aunt Becky said...

It's funny, I cannot identify a hawk as such, I lump it all into "birds of prey." As in "I see a bird of prey there."

Makes me sound totally stupid.

MommaSuds said...

Beautiful hawk pictures.I love the hawk.It is such an amazing animal.

I found your blog by way of a few of my friends participating in your monday missions.Awesome idea by the way.I hope to maybe participate next monday.It is to late and I am to tired to try right now.

I love your layout it is so colorful.Looking forward to reading some more of your posts.Have a great day and have a great play opening.Is it this weekend?