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Daily Bucket Friday Sequence [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-25
I was enthused and beholden to see W&Bs take it upon herself to renew the Friday Sequence series with two wonderful stories. So, I decided to add to her efforts with another one. This will be a photo sequence of time I experienced during an afternoon work break a few weeks ago.
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. I had hopes of seeing an Eagle as the season was slipping away, so I took a break from working on my dance regalia to do a little hike across the road and down the hill to the watershed. I could hear the geese down there from my driveway in front of my barn, so I hoped an Eagle would tune in to trying for a catch. As I exited the door of my cabin I heard one of my Red Shouldered hawks chirping from very close range. As soon as I set foot on the deck it took off. The roof over the deck limited my ability to react but I did manage to get a quickdraw shot off as it flow off toward the river. The Red Shouldered was doubtless hoping for an easy meal from the feeder area just outside my first door. This Fox Squirrel is on a tree branch from which one of my feeders hangs. It could make a much desired target for a hungry Red Shouldered Hawk.
The downhill walk from road to water’s edge is kind of long and the Geese have seen me long before I actually got down to water’s edge. But the surface area is large enough they don’t usually get worried enough to fly so long as I maintain a slow pace, and so long as they can see me. But they do move to the other end from my approach.
A hawk flew overhead as I neared the edge of the water. It was high enough I could tell for sure what kind of hawk it was.
Harrier or Red Shouldered?
This bird almost looked like a Red Shouldered Hawk. Almost?
From a distance these resting geese looked exactly like rocks embedded in the mud. I nestled down under some cedars to wait for what action was there to capture. Once I looked through my long lens I could see they weren't rocks after all. But by naked eye the mental image persisted. I knew they would not be flying without good reason.
I call the spot I hide in under some trees near the shore my blind spot. This group of geese were much closer than those at the far corner of the lake. I call this watershed pond a lake even though it is only about seven acres of water surface. Compared to my little pond it IS a lake!
It was a windy day but that didn’t bother the ducks, of which there were several species. They were fun to watch as I waited. Both ducks and geese became agitated when a shadow cast from overhead passed by.
Original image of a hawk doing a flyby over the watershed. That always gives the ducks and geese reason to panic, even if only briefly. Can you tell what kind of hawk this is? Tough in this light.
Cropping and adding light in processing makes ID much easier. It is a Harrier looking to score an easy meal. That startled the ducks and geese but only briefly. I resumed my wait.
But SUDDENLY...
The “rocks”...they flew!
Once airborne the “rocks” turned into Geese, so many geese they darkened the sky and their beating wings added to the anxious honking made for uproarious bedlam.
AHA! There has to be a good reason to create such a reaction. I turned my attention to spotting the offending Eagle!
But, the Eagle never appeared. After sitting another fifteen minutes or so I ended my afternoon work break and began trudging back up the long uphill trek back toward home. I climbed over the gate and crossed the road to my gate. As I opened my gate to pass through I noticed a large hawk flying over the barn, corral, and pastures.
OMG, that is not a hawk at all. It is the Eagle I have been hoping to see, the main reason for taking this break in the first place.
The Eagle circled at high altitude back and forth over my airspace.
It has a bead on me even from such extreme height.
I couldn’t tell until I got home and dialed these up on my computer but this Eagle never took its eye off me as it circled so far overhead.
This one is at the far end of the south pasture and was my last view as it turned to head south. I didn’t even make an attempt to process this one. Work beckoned.
That was the end of my break. No wall hangers but a satisfying result none the less. What say you take a break and add a story of your own in the comments below. After all, it is YOU who makes these stories all they can be. I can hardly wait to see it.
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