Sometimes you don’t have to drive thousands of miles to see the beauty of nature.

When this guy comes down to the lake, everybody else goes into hiding. He rules the roost around here!

The Red Shoulder Hawk has been a fixture around the lake for all the years we’ve been here. Almost every day you can hear him screeching as he flies overhead. Sometimes he lands in the trees around the lake edge, and watches for something vulnerable to show itself. I have seen him dive bomb the water from the tree branches, and take a small fish. I have also seen him grab and carry across the lake a fully grown ground squirrel. One time I watched him circling in a tight 60 wide foot circle 25 feet above the lake surface for a dozen turns, before diving at something in the water. That time he came up empty.

He is a magnificent bird. When viewed from front on, he is the most muscular bird I have ever seen. Powerful looking. And very self confident. He is not very flighty when it comes to me photographing him. As long as I stay a certain distance away, and don’t spook the potential food in his lake, he allows me to follow him around with my tripod and camera. He turns a watchful eye on me sometimes, but doesn’t fly away unless I violate the terms we have established.