Red-Tailed Hawk

Hi again! What do you think of as a happy surprise? Finding a $50 bill on the sidewalk? Looking up at night to see a shooting star? An unexpected visit from an old friend? Well, I would be thrilled with any of those things. But my FAVORITE happy surprise is going on a walk or hike and seeing a bird I didn’t expect to see!

Look. at. this. beautiful.bird! One dreary Saturday morning, cloudy and a little foggy, we were walking around a local lake and…Bam! A large hawk, a beautiful hawk sitting in a tree pretty close to the trail. So relaxed, looking at us while we looked at him or her. See it’s right foot poking out from under it’s belly feathers?

Look at this face! The beak goes from midnight to yellow. The gold eyes. The mottled-looking brown and white feathers. Such a beauty. What fun to photograph this bird!

The red-tailed hawk is the most widespread large hawk in North America. They have a very shrill cry. Males and females both build their nests and incubate their eggs. The male brings most of the food to the nest while the female feeds it to their young.

Today marks the third week in Advent and the theme is “joy.” What brings you joy? Can you think of a way to bring joy to another this Christmas season? The holiday season has always been known to affect some in a sad or negative way and with all that’s going on at the moment, those people are more vulnerable than ever. Let’s resolve to be kind in the coming weeks, even when it’s hard.

Be blessed!