A Hike and a Hawk

Just some images from a casual hike along a river near the city that I live in.

The trail through the trees, showing their winter lack of foliage. I like how the trail goes off into the distance. Down at the end you will either find a terrifying mythical beast or a parking lot.

There was a hawk perched in the sunlight for a few photos. I asked Bing AI what it was and it told me that it is a Cooper’s hawk. Cooper’s hawks are common around here, so I guess I believe it. I had a very narrow view of this guy through the branches and he stayed there for about 5 photos and flew off.

With the recent rain, the river bed had some water in it, but it was very still and reflective. I thought that some of the boulders made for some nice mirror images. To give you an idea how still the water was, I shot these images hand-held.

The day started off cloudy and raining, then we had a clear blue sky late afternoon, and then I woke up to clouds, fog and misty rain the next day. Just enough time for a somewhat muddy hike along the river.

Everything shot with a light-weight Nikon Z50 and kit lenses.

Hope you have a merry Christmas and don’t eat too much.

20 thoughts on “A Hike and a Hawk”

    1. This was a Friday afternoon when all the decent people were working, so there wasn’t much of anything in the parking lot. Though the Austin area has EVs everywhere.

      I like this place because it is free and there is sometimes water in the river which I enjoy for photography. The river area is mostly kind of scrubby looking though and not the most photogenic place on Earth, but central Texas is not known for beautiful landscapes.

      Liked by 2 people

    1. The kit lenses are very small and light. I can tell that they aren’t as sharp as my higher quality lenses, especially toward the corners, and I do see a little color fringing especially in out of focus tree branches. But, the combo of the Z50 + 16-50mm weighs very little, works great with a wrist strap and fits in a jacket pocket. And I can easily carry the 50-250mm kit lens to swap. I have gotten some really good photos with this kit.
      I can really tell the difference in my shoulders compared to hiking around all day with my heavier full-frame gear. But, I can also tell the difference with the full-frame gear when taking more serious photos.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I recently went to ‘the dark side’ LOL. After years of big packs, huge lens, and broken parts (completely rebuilt fake neck) I changed to the OM System (Olympus) 4/3. Never would have if they had not developed new sensors but combine the OM-1 with Leica lens I get as good, and sometimes better than I have with Canons. Around 1/3 of the weight so my Dr. happy too.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Nice to have easy access to someplace like this… even if there are a few terrifying beasts prowling about. (I recommend bear spray.)

    The Cooper’s hawk is interesting. Red Tails are the usual non aquatic-hunting hawks around here… though of a different genus? But mentioning to a local wildlife expert that I’d witness a very fast predatory bird dart *through* a tree in order to get at a bird, she suggested either Cooper’s or a Goshawk. At any rate, I wasn’t aware until then that there was a predatory bird capable of such a feat.

    Merry Christmas to you! Or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Dongzhi, or Saturnalia, or Festivus… or whatever you celebrate!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have a Texas bird guide, but I was unable to decide exactly which kind of hawk it was with any confidence. So, I blame it on AI if I am wrong. The hawk was swooping over the river looking for prey I assume. I got a few photos of it flying but they weren’t very good.

      I’ve never heard of a couple of those holidays, but if there’s a free tee-shirt involved, count me in.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Hmm .. yes, what could possibly be at the end of the path.

    We had a Cooper Hawk here this fall, which I didn’t like. It kept its eyes on our Yorkie at times.

    The boulder pics are my favorites. Great reflections in the water.

    Merry Christmas! Don’t eat too much fruitcake. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I have a Cooper’s hawk that frequents the neighborhood here and my backyard as I have bird feeders. Yorkies and cats (mine) are too large a prey for them, but it will go after other birds. Seen and photographed a couple in my yard, with small feathered victim in claw. But still, I warned my cats to stay inside while the hawk was sitting on the deck railing eating its recently acquired lunch. They didn’t move, but just watched. Bigger than the sparrows and nuthatches they usually at the feeders. And the they Re fast and can swoosh through tree branches as incredible speed.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. We read that a Yorkie is too big for them to carry far and that they will drop them within a short distance. But just grabbing a dog or cat with those sharp talons, I am sure, would injure it.

      Like

Leave a reply to Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.