Red-tailed Hawk at the Boat Launch

 Red-tailed Hawk on a weathervane 12-21-14

I had not seen a Red-tailed Hawk at the boat launch before, but, on December 21, the day before my surgery I took one last thoughtful walk around the loop and down by the water. There was still open water in the bay then and I enjoyed these quiet moments with the birds and my thoughts. It was a gray winter’s day around 2 pm, but as the shortest day of the year with the sun setting around 4, it felt like late afternoon or evening. I was down by the boat ramp when a red-tailed hawk flew in and landed on the weathervane. It was the first time I had ever seen one here and I was excited! The following photos are a series I took as I watched this common but beautiful bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, back then I was so concerned about my surgery and how it was going to impact my life. I had no idea what was coming down the pike or how the surgery would be the least of my problems. Since falling through the floor and dislocating my shoulder my life has been even more impacted. I have long since recovered from surgery, but my shoulder is still not functioning right and I cannot sleep without pain. I had an MRI on Sunday and am awaiting the results when I see the orthopedist on Monday. I am still watching and counting birds in my yard everyday and yesterday was finally nice enough for me to walk over to the boat launch and watch birds again. Though there is still upwards of 3 feet of snow on the ground and the bay is still frozen, the birds can tell the change is coming and they were singing and calling their hearts out! It was a loud and noisy cacophony over there and I counted 17 species of birds! As for me, I just want my broken wing to heal so I can fly again.

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