Saturday, September 19, 2020

The Cold shoulder

This evening we drove up to the hill again to watch the chimney swifts and the sunset. And what a surprise awaited me! A big hawk sat atop the chimney where the swifts go to sleep. He watched them all circle round and round, clearly hoping for a good dinner. Can you see him way up there?



See the tiny dot on top of the tower?

I was late getting there and it was getting dark, else the pictures would have been better.




I have identified him as a Red Shouldered Hawk. If you think not, I would love to hear what you think he is. I did not see him catch a single swift. As we drove away, I took one last look.

Oh, I almost forgot. The sunset...

“Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life: bright the hawk's flight on the empty sky.”

Ursula K. Le Guin












19 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

My guess is Cooper's Hawk. The tail. Beautiful sunset.

Martha said...

When I saw the first shot I thought it was the bats. The hawk is gorgeous and so is the sunset. Have a beautiful Sunday Ginny :)

Jeanette said...

We had chimney swifts in our old house. We could hear them chirping and twittering through our fireplace! Occasionally a hawk would sit on the top of the chimney and there would not be a sound coming from inside. Then before they left for the winter we would watch about 20-30 of them circling our house as the babies learned to fly and catch their meals! Unfortunately before we sold the house we had to cap the chimney.

George said...

I hope the swallows were eventually able to get to their sleeping quarters. You got some wonderful pictures that evening.

Chatty Crone said...

Are those an endangered species? Was he looking for 'food'?

MadSnapper said...

I am thinking he is a Chimney Hawk! ha ha... that is HIS chimney and what a view he must have while he waits for his dinner.

Tamago said...

Great capture of the hawk. He is beautiful! And the sunset is beautiful, too :-)

Beside a babbling brook... said...

OH~I~dislike~hawks!!!!!!!!!

Miserable thing... Sitting right on the top of their chimney.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Sorry for a *bummer* comment, but I just don't like them. Grummmmmmmble

💛🍁💛🍁💛

Rose said...

That was VC worth the drive!

photowannabe said...

I guess it's survival of the fittest and the natural order of things
But...
Sometimes life is RAW...
Great photos and the sunset was lovely too.
Sue

Ann Thompson said...

That looks like a good spot for a hawk to catch a meal. Pretty sunset

The Feminine Energy said...

Evening is such a special time of day.... ~Andrea xoxo

Inger said...

Here the red-tailed hawk is the most common, but the ravens chase them away, they are so territorial and gang up on any hawk that tries to come on my land. I really have nothing to say about it. So I don't know what kind that is .

Mari said...

Beautiful photos! I love seeing hawks, they are majestic.

CheerfulMonk said...

Neat photos! I like the fact that it was getting dark, that's a peaceful time.

Ruth Hiebert said...

With that many Swifts wanting to head into that chimney, the hawk need only open its mouth to get a free lunch.

Reanaclaire said...

You are really observant, Ginny! The birds indeed are more active in the mornings and evenings!

L. D. said...

Great bird photos and one bird that loves to destroy birds and eat them.

DeniseinVA said...

Oh goodness, those are wonderful captures. Love the lighting at this time of the day.

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