Red-Tailed Hawk

— A short trip to the Texas State Cemetery this afternoon ended up giving me a huge surprise. I got there with the intent to see the tombstones for Chris Kyle, Governor Ann Richards, and US House of Representative Barbara Jordan. As soon as I entered the cemetery, I proceeded to Kyle’s grave site. Right before getting there, I stopped as I approached a bridge on the cemetery grounds. I saw this beautiful bird perched on a low branch on a tree right in front of me. It couldn’t have been 10 feet (3 m) away from me. At first I thought it was a decoy on the tree, for it was so still and motionless. I waited and waited before I began changing my wide-angle lens to my zoom lens. I then noticed the bird’s head move. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing — and so close! I was able to get a few shots, including one of its back (the first shot I took). It just sat there completely unafraid of me. One of the grounds keeper came by on his motorized vehicle, and I showed it to him. The motor sound never scared the hawk. A few minutes later, three other visitors were walking by as I was photographing the hawk, and I pointed it out to them. They were so surprised to see it that close.