Student Of The World

A good friend of mine calls me a student of the world. I like that, I think that it is a pretty accurate description. Having said that, I thought that a photograph of a Hawk would be the most appropriate "first pic" on this blog. Hawks are my favorite creatures on this earth. There is just something about them that I cannot possibly articulate.


This photo was taken towards the back side of Lake Raleigh in Raleigh, NC. I was walking along one of the trails looking for Hawks or Herons to shoot. I saw this bird fly up from the ground onto tree branch only about 8 feet of the ground. I slowly started through the woods towards that direction with that typical feeling of excitement and urgency hoping I would get a decent shot of him before he was spooked by my presence and flew away to another tree farther away and considerably higher off the ground. When I got deeper into the woods and spotted him perched on that tree branch I approached while firing away to make sure that I had at least some shots of him. I saw blood on his beak, as well as the lump in the upper portion of his chest that meant I had just missed him feeding. But that meant that he was now digesting and was quite content to sit there and rest while doing so. I was able to get within 10 feet of this bird and get some great up close shots. Not only was I able to get that close for a shot or two, I was able to hang out with it for an hour. He was unaffected by my presence, it was quite an experience for me considering my love for these creatures. Most of my hawk encounters are very brief and from more of distance.