A Raptor Day at BBSP

[houtex01]

Spent yesterday down at Brazos Bend State Park...was little leary of the wind and overcast skies...but it turned out to be a very good day for Raptors...found these two hawks which I believe are both Red-shouldered Hawks along the Spillway Trail...the hawk in the first two photos was sitting in a tree where the two trails meet at the observation tower...I eventually managed to walk to within about 30 feet of him before he flew off...the hawk in the other photos followed me down the Spillway Trail providing many photo opportunities...at one point I was standing by the park bench so I decided to sit down and rest while I was watching him...while sitting there he decided to fly over and landed about 20 feet from me...after a couple of photos I got the dreaded photographer dilema...card full...so I'm trying to slowly retrieve another card from my pocket and not scare him off...managed to get another card and snap several more photos before he moved on...kept hoping that he would catch something and perch where I could photograph it...he seemed to be catching small things...you can see some type of lizard in one photo...but nothing big...hope you enjoy...C/C always welcomed...

Ron

[Orogeny]

Wow, Ron, it must be nice having a pet red-shouldered hawk!

What a neat experience that must have been. Your photos are very nice!

[preames]

Fantastic series Ron! The shot with the lizard is my favorite. The overcast light worked well with these - you got some very nice detail.

[corralup]

Cool! The hawks are really putting on a show down there! Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience.

[Stargazer77517]

Oh man, isnt it great when they pose for ya. Great captures Ron

[TxPhotoShooter]

Nice clean, detailed photos Ron. I especially like the first 2 with the eye contact, the wind moving the feathers and the background.

[David Alaniz]

If I ever run into you out there I'm following. Anyone that gets their pets that close is doing a good job. Good detail and well done Ron.

[jfoureyes]

Ron, you did a fantastic job on all of these! The one with the anole is my favorite, but I sure hate he is eating one of my favorite subjects to hunt out there... well besides green tree frogs...

[MichaelW]

I always enjoy seeing hawks. Nice work on the photos.

[ifly223]

Seems to be plenty of them out there. : )

[Tim T]

Great series Ron. Really like the lizard shot. Very cool find.

[houtex01]

Thanks everyone for viewing and leaving your comments...always appreciated and always enjoy reading them...I think some of the hawks at BBSP tend to be a little more friendly due to the high volume of people in the area...I spotted the first hawk as I was walking toward the observation tower...so I positioned the tower between me and the hawk so I could get closer...I ended up underneath the tower...while I was taking photos, I noticed a couple walking up from toward the spillway...I kept my camera on the hawk hoping to catch it when it flew off when they spooked it...next thing I know the couple is standing in front of me at the tower and the hawk is still sitting in the tree...they didn't see the hawk until they saw what I was photographing...another couple approached the tower from the Lake Trail and still the hawk didn't move...so I decided to come out from underneath the tower...I eased myself down the Spillway Trail to where I could get an open shot at the hawk...still no movement from the hawk...I even moved down off the trail to get a little closer maybe within 25-30 feet of the hawk...finally he had enough of me and took off...the second hawk seemed to have no apprehension to my presence...looks like the only thing he was interested in was finding something to eat...I have probably 5-10 more photos of different perch positions beside the ones that I posted...all in all it was certainly a fun day watching and photographing these two hawks...btw is my assumption that both of these are Red-shoulder Hawks correct? Thanks...

Ron

[GSM]

very nice Ron. it is an experience to see these guys up close

[lhdvies]

Excellent stuff Ron-Good day!!

[jase1125]

Nice pics Ron. Also, while you are in DFW check out the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center. They have an assortment of birds including Bald Eagles. It is probably a little over an hour from Highland Village.

John Bunker Sands Wetland Center