Wednesday, October 2, 2013

10/2/13 morning encounters

Northern Lights in Colorado (Tuesday morning)

Closer to my neighborhood:

(Monday morning)


(This morning)


This morning's wash out was more than made up by my encounter with a hawk at the top of the hill that Evan and I always walk. We'd just reached the summit when I caught sight of two birds, one a blackbird and another that looked like some kind of small falcon, with that distinctive beak. The falcon peeled off in a strange arc and dove into the brush, while, from the tree ahead of us, came the red-tailed hawk. The blackbird circled back and was dancing in flight behind the hawk, who was . . . floating, or hovering, very slowly, not really flying . . .but gliding directly toward us. He was also looking right at us and descending, so that he passed above my head so closely that I felt like I could hold my arm out and he'd easily land on it.

I've never been that close to a hawk in flight. They are really are majestic, just sort of overwhelmingly-heart-in-your-throat kind of beautiful, when their wings are spread out over you. 

After the fly by, he banked and rose and floated away over the top of the hill, with the blackbird following close behind.


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