Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Hello again..

The dog noticed this guy in our neighbor's yard on her walk one day last week. We grabbed cameras and clicked away....I was inching closer flat on my belly till it was apparent that the little sharp-shinned wasn't going anywhere. He was unmarked, but acting dazed - we guessed he must have flown into something. He kept closing his right eye, and didn't react to us very much at all.





Looks like he's about had it with us in his face, doesn't he?

WINK!
We captured him fairly easily and called our friend at the VA Raptor Conservancy. We were able to take the bird to a volunteer, who transported him to the conservancy. I had word later in the week that he did recover and will be released soon. Hooray!

I just hope he doesn't ever see Ollie!

This is Olivia. I have always called my resident female Camille, but then I never had one for 7 years before the last Camille. This one is a little different -I thought she should have her own name.
Eeee, eee, eeeeeee!


Ditto.

And on a different note.....

Lane 2, Nick David, First Place !

Lane One, Nick David, First Place.


This one was close! Lots of Phelps record times on the board to the left.

All Star!

Just for a smile...



27 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

Absolutely love the sign!!!

What a beautiful creature your hawk is. It is great the raptor center was able to help him through this. Good work on your part to get him the help he needed.

Oh and it's nice to see you again:)
Marnie

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

That little hawk is so cute,thank goodness he was OK.Love the Bluebird shots as well.
Blessings,Ruth

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Helen: Those are really neat photos of the hawk and other birds. Your grandson is quite the swimmer.

Chris said...

Welcome back!!! Beautiful post and saving of the raptor.. So did Oli has a new companion!

holdingmoments said...

Lovely pictures Helen, but that bird of prey is superb. He is a real beauty.

NCmountainwoman said...

Oh, I am so glad you are back! I have really missed you.

What wonderful photographs of the little Sharpie. I'm glad it will be all right.

And I love Ollie's new mate.

Kudos to the swimmer!

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Good to know that the raptor survived.
We have a winner here.

Arija said...

Helen,
how lovely to see you posting again! Love all the bird and I'm so jappy you rescued Mr. Winkie.

I hope you don't mind me passing your solid bit of advice on to those who stand in dire need of it.

Jayne said...

Welcome back Helen! Glad the Sharpie was OK... great photos of him. Yea to the swimmer extraordinaire!

Dave Coulter said...

Nice series of shots....good news about the hawk too!

abb said...

Wait a minute! Where are my other 3??

Congratulations on swims well done!

You're hawk photos are wonderful! And I'm so very glad he/she's ok.

You take the best bird photos, Helen!

jalynn01 said...

The sign was hilarious!! The hawk was marvelous. Wonder what his problem was? Ollie did good..Olivia is beautiful..let's hope they have many babies together. Congrats! on the swim meet. Welcome Back!

Willard said...

Beautiful shots of the bluebirds and the hawk, Helen.

I hope you return to posting more often soon! We were in SNP again from Monday through this morning and will post some more SNP photos soon, but I need to deal with a few more posts about the elk first. Monday was a good day in SNP, but for some reason we didn't see many bucks yesterday, and today was all rain and fog in the morning so we came home.

Take care and thanks for stopping by the blog.

Maria said...

Hi! I enjoyed seeing a new photos tonight! What a fantastic photo of the hawk! I wonder what caused the problem with his eye!
Gorgeous though!
and Ollie how cute! Love "following" him :)
~Maria

Unknown said...

I love a happy ending ... funny how you kept getting closer before you realized, too.

eileeninmd said...

I am happy to hear the Sharpie is recovering and will be released. I love yoru bluebirds.
Great photos.

Unknown said...

Beautiful series of images on the Raptor. Loved it.

DeniseinVA said...

Great to see you posting Helen and it was as always a first class post. Loved all the photos, congrats to Nick David, he's a handsome little guy, the birds and that sign, a hoot! Have a great weekend.

Kelly said...

...love those Sharp-shinned Hawk photos! His eyes are so telling... I hope he stays away from your Bluebird as well!

D-Wing said...

I really like your blog. http://d-wing.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Hi Helen, great bird shots as always. Hope you continue to keep these four men apart. {:)

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Hi Helen,
Just stopped by to say hello. What a wonderful post this is. The pictures are stunning. So glad to know that the hawk is okay. These are the best detailed Sharp Shinned pix I've ever seen!! What a beauty. Loved all the other pictures, too. Hope you are well.
Lin

Stacey Olson said...

Good save on the raptor.. if they look tired in the eyes.. then they are usually sick... thanks for caring..

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Hello again! Thanks for stopping by. It's so nice to hear from you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't blogging regularly. I just can't seem to get my thoughts together and post regularly anymore. I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Lin

Mary said...

I'm so glad the little hawk is OK. Great job in rescuing it! Olivia is beautiful and I'm glad Ollie has a new mate.

Tony nile life said...

Lucky you, getting some good pictures of the falcon, Nice to know others care about our wildlife, something I cannot say about Egypt.

Unknown said...

Crack me up!!!!!!
Cheryl