Surprise Visitor

December 3, 2012 by seabluelee 4 Comments

I was working at my desk this morning when I glanced out and saw a startling sight:

I know, not very impressive, is it? I apologize for the poor quality of this photo, but sometimes you just have to go with what you can get. Here’s the cropped, processed, close-up version:

This beautiful Cooper’s Hawk was perched on the back of the Adirondack chair that is literally 30 feet from my front door. I didn’t even have my tele zoom on the camera, but I captured him (her?) as well as I could through the window with my 18-55mm zoom. I was afraid to move for fear of scaring him away!

Isn’t he gorgeous? All my pretty little finches, sparrows, and chickadees had suddenly vanished from the yard, which made me glad, though it meant that this lovely creature had to look elsewhere for breakfast.

Unfortunately, the image is clouded by interior reflections on the window glass (curtains and even the dining room table). And I only got off a few shots before my battery died! I should have paid more attention the the Boy Scout motto, “Always be prepared.” I knew last night that the battery was low, and I also thought about switching back to the telephoto lens after I finished shooting some sunset skies. Next time I will listen to that little voice in my head!