Weekly Photography Challenge Thread (see first post rules and then the poll at top before entering)

Going places where most don't go, I head to the hills, for peace and quiet, tranquility, bliss,
and just down time!!!!

 

Its amazing how peaceful yet violent the waves are.

 

I’ve had a lot of fun over the years researching the power of water,(paddling white water) my daughter used to hang out on the river bank with this guy when they were toddlers,he ended up pretty good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Te-DJDAXIk&t=37s

 

Wow, that's looks like a blast!

 

This our rhododendron that blooms all year, one last bloom before winter, and I can see it out the window of the home office



entry

 

Entry: my kids enjoying a ride on the 1963 mower my dad gave them.

 

I love the Ottawa! Haven't been in a few years but need to make a trip next springish for the super big stuff. Dane has gotten super good with his drone stuff

And yes you are right, its amazing how powerful water is. Definitely have to respect it

 

Entry: sitting in the woods.

 

Nice close up shot of that Cooper's hawk.

 

Thank you! It’s a Sharp-Shinned hawk though. Almost identical visually but significantly smaller in size.

 

Are you positive? That sure looks like a Cooper's head, but I could be wrong. It has a pretty defined cap, and sharp-shinned eyes don't usually get quite that red. Male Cooper's hawks aren't much bigger than female Sharp-shinned hawks. Got any other photos of it? If you have one that includes the end of the tail that would make ID'ing it easy.

 

(Non-entry)

I figured it was a sharpy since it was only about 9” tall. I’ve never seen a Coopers hawk so small but it very well could be!

 

Definitely a Coopers' hawk. Adult male, and an older one with an eye that red. The eye gets redder as they get older. The tail on Coopers' are rounded, where the sharp-shinned tail is squared off. Their heads are shaped differently to. Coopers' heads look bigger with a noticeable darker cap.

 

I didn’t realize they could be so small. Thanks for the info!

 

Coopers' hawks, like most raptors have pretty significant sexual dimorphism with the females being quite a bit bigger. This makes for a very wide range of sizes for one species.

 

Lousy picture, but it’s all I got for this week. Entry.

 

Entry: Bitzer on his couch.

 

Non entries.. missed the cut off by 32 minutes but wanted to post my thought

Getting ready to walk down to the put in (whitewater kayaking) Western NC



And a great sunset on the way back to camp (also not an enty of course)

 

Where tf is @My Name is Rahl