Today's Catch, Mustatatuck National Wildlife Refuge

As I drove into the entrance to Mustatatuck earlier today, I hadn't even gotten a tenth of a mile in when at the first open field on the left side sat this gorgeous bird of prey, an immature Hawk, surveying the field in search of a meal. I have a photo of him giving me the ole dead eye I'll share later. I also have some images of this same Hawk in a field down a ways as I was leaving Mustatatuck. He must have been really hungry as he was surveying that field as closely as he was the first.

All the swamps were mostly frozen, as was Reichart Lake today, with the exception of a small open area in the middle of the lake. The gravel road traversing the refuge was very, very icy and snowy, but I was able to navigate it with just the minimum of work. I've traveled this road when it had a good 3 inches of snow on it so I was pretty sure I could manage it today. Have you been outdoors lately? I have always hated Winter, but last year I decided to get outdoors more in the Winter and see if I could kill some of that dislike. It's working. I enjoy Winter much more now. Before I leave you today, and least you think I had forgotten, as for the holidays . . . I have officially decked my halls. And I only have a few gifts I have to buy each year and those are on their way to me via USPS right now. Now the real question comes . . . have you finished decorating, shopping, wrapping, etc. etc. And can you believe that Christmas is a week and a half away. Where did the time go? ENJOY!

Cooper's Hawk

Spending some time at Mustatatuck this Fall was a real treat. The beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees, not to mention the reeds in the marshes, as their colors changed hues from early to late Fall was amazing. I made several trips to the refuge and was really glad I got to see this transformation firsthand. On my first visit, I happened upon this Cooper's Hawk which I posted about several weeks ago. He was planted firmly on a small branch in a dense area of brush near one of the marshes.

While I felt blessed to have gotten some nice images of this bird of prey in the wild, I had no idea until researching the 'web' that in ancient Eygpt, the hawk was a symbol of the soul, as well as a symbol of victory because it swoops down on its prey with ferocity and power. There is tons more about the hawk online and its ancient symbolism. There is also a superstition among Native Americans that to see a hawk is a sign of good luck. Well, I definitely felt luck was at hand to get these images.

On this particular day, just getting a glimpse of this beautiful bird of prey was unusual. Normally, I see hawks flying overhead or perched up high on a branch at a distance. Attempting to get closer will only cause the hawk to fly away. Not a trusting soul I'd say. Cooper's Hawks prefer to hunt in dense vegetation which explains why I discovered this one in the dense brush near the marsh. My favorite image is of him taking off. He flew into denser brush and my attempts to get an image was futile. Warmer weather is on the horizon here in Kentucky. Global warming, are you a believer? ENJOY!

Cooper's Hawk, Mustatatuck NWR

As I entered Mustatatuck early afternoon, I turned right onto the marsh road and decided to allow two vehicles to pass me on the gravel road. As I moved the car back toward the center of the road, I looked up and saw something large moving in a tree off to my right, not far from the road.

A beautiful Cooper's Hawk had obviously just finished a kill and was busily preening. While he was busy, I grabbed the camera and proceeded to photograph. These are the images of him quietly resting moments later.

Getting a hawk to stay put while taking images when you are this close seldom happens, unless you have a 400-500 mm lens and are a little farther away. So I was happy to have my car as camouflage even though I knew that wouldn't hold up for long.

Such a beautiful bird of prey. I have to say he's got some serious looking claws on him perfect for devouring his prey. I also captured several images of an American Coot in the marshes, and some other bird images I'll share soon. ENJOY!