Hawk Eyes

The past few times I walked, I saw a hawk in the distance by the drainage pond (which is a surprisingly beautiful area). The view is from the top of the hill and I only had my phone with me, so I wasn't able to take good pictures of the hawk from such a far distance.

This morning, I took my walk a couple hours after sunrise, with camera in hand. I was hoping to see a hawk by the drainage pond again so I could get a good picture. To my disappointment, there was no activity of any kind that I could see down there. I was met with a different kind of surprise instead.

I walked past the drainage pond, into the courtyard area, and saw this precious little birdie, which I believe is a young hawk.

I was still a bit of a distance away, but I wanted to take the picture before my newfound feathered friend fled. I'm glad I did because as I walked closer, the little one hid in the bushes and I was unable to take another picture.

After I took the picture, I realized the settings on my camera were still on the settings I used to take pictures of the moon. Ooops! The picture came out rather dark, but thanks to editing software, I was able to correct the lighting. Whew!

Before our parting, we made direct eye contact. I was glad for this brief, but memorable moment.