this is very beautiful -- sleek, lonely, determined -- a dreaded and hated creature -- cursed for looks, but a beautiful wonder all the same!! faaabulous!
11 Oct 2008 7:26pm
@dj.tigersprout: I was commenting to my wife how interesting it is that these birds have a visage that fits their role in nature. Unlike a hawk who kills its own prey, and is a beautiful majestic bird, they survive off the opportunistic death of other animals. On the other hand, a natural order that has its members feeding off one another is fundamentally strange to begin with.
We don't have those around here, thankfully. But it is a lovely well timed shot.
12 Oct 2008 1:29am
@Observing: I was commenting to my wife how interesting it is that these birds have a visage that fits their role in nature. Unlike a hawk who kills its own prey, and is a beautiful majestic bird, they survive off the opportunistic death of other animals. On the other hand, a natural order that has its members feeding off one another is fundamentally strange to begin with.
@gbe: These birds are surprisingly flighty. You can go right by them in a car and they don't move, but stop a little further off and roll down your window and off they go. I actually took a few shots of him sitting on a post before he lifted off, so I didn't have to be very quick.