As I am walking to enter the woods a slight breeze ruffles the few leaves left on the trees. I look up and make eye contact with piercing yellow eyes. They continue to stare into my dark brown ones. It’s a coopers hawk. The curve of its beak comes to a sharp point at the tip. I look down hoping that it doesn’t do anything or come any closer. When I glance back up there it is, still looking straight at me. All of a sudden it opens its large wings and shows the pretty brown and white speckled feathers on its back. I jump back. Once I realize it was just stretching and wasn’t going to hurt me, I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. Focusing on the rise and fall of my breath, I take a step back and keep backing up. I wish I had the confidence of being able to stand so secure to stare down a possible threat. I wipe the sweat from my brow and continue on.
I have never been so close to such a large hawk. I can see its beautiful feathers that cover its body. It sits perched on a soccer goal looking down at everyone that runs past it. At first, I didn’t know that it was a coopers hawk. I just thought that it was simply a hawk. I snapped a picture and kept walking to get to the woods. When I got home I looked it up. Looking at more images on the internet, I was able to see its beauty up close.
I wonder what life is like for the hawk. How does it
