Flight of hawk witnessed

Suddenly a swoop of a bird checked to see if there were any baby ducks just waiting for his attention...or I'd prefer to think he was looking for a big fish, as I walked around Lake Tomahawk.

I stood with phone camera, blinking in sun, hoping one of my shots would show something.
This is the difference between having a camera and a phone.  But it was nice not to have to carry both instruments.

I stood still under this tree, and sure enough, on that bare branch, the hawk perched, again facing the ducks. He didn't even notice me, but turned his tail toward me.  OK, here's a cropped version that gives a person-eye-view of a hawk tail.

By the time he took off, several other people had noticed me, but not the bird.  I was fortunate to catch him with first thrust of his wings.

How wonderful to get pictures as he flew around...this coloration is all from the sun.

Yep, my friends, I got the pictures.  Interesting to see that the bird has some feathers on his right wing that seem damaged.  I wonder if these will grow back, or is the injury such that I will be able to recognize him again.

Quote for the day:

Death can come at any minute, in any way. We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or, whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight! But still, we have the golden present. Now we are alive and kicking. What should we do now? Love all, serve all.

Sri Swami Satchidananda