Continued...Another Red-tailed Hawk, Another Deer...

And around the next curve, another deer  stands contemplating me.  This one stands his ground and I continue on my way on foot.

 A Redtail flies over my head.

Then she heads toward the treeline, flies deftly through the branches and is lost to distance.

 The Seventh Fence Post Nest....

 The nest does not appear to hold a sitting bird.  Is it too early?  Or is this an alternate nest that wasn't chosen this year?  Back to the circuit.
I come round the curve....ah, this is likely the Red-tail we just saw go into the treeline.

 I'm distracted by a pair of Mallards paddling in tandem in the creek.

 The hen's bill drips with water plants.  Yes, I know...what is the Red-tail up to?  

She's still there.

In the blink of an eye she's standing, watching something beneath her.

And either it flew, or something else more interesting did.

And she's off!  I see her go off and then veer left into the trees, but then...?

 Where is she?  Maybe she didn't come this far.  Back track.

 There she is!

 It's getting dark.  Soon she'll no longer be visible. 

 She's still watching.

And watching...

And waiting.  

This is the actual view and I'm beginning to loose her in the distance from lack of light but so far she is still there. (Center)

Good night Red-tail, and happy hunting.

Donegal Browne

An Eleanor Tauber Photography Wednesday

All photographs by marvelous Central Park Photographer, Eleanor Tauber

As Eleanor said that The Model Boat Pond ducklings are growing up and every day they look more and more like their mallard Mom.

She continued, "I went to the NABA [New York chapter of the North American Butterfly Association] yearly picnic last Wednesday night at Turtle Pond. After the picnic, when it got dark, some of us went looking for cicadas, and really lucked out quickly. We were headed for Cedar Hill, but found one just when it was starting to transform, on a fence near the “Poland” statue."

"All the changes happened [except for the last photo] within 14 minutes."
(That's fast! The last one I watched took well over an hour to emerge and that doesn't include wing drying time. D.B.)

"We went away for 25 minutes — and came back to see the transformation completed [my final photo]."

Also at Central Park's Turtle Pond, Eleanor captured this Bumble Bee with his proboscis deep in a flower.

AND this Blue Dasher Dragonfly! I'd always wondered how their bodies were segmented. When I was a small child the children of the neighborhood called these dragonflies "Blue Arrows" and their flights were used as a part of our games of Cowboys and Indians.

Un-adult micro-managed free outdoor play in nature, builds creative pathways in the brain, creates a comfort zone of self-reliance, and nurtures young humans who understand, appreciate, and become responsible adults who care what happens to the Earth and it's creatures.

Donegal Browne