Monday, May 27, 2024

A Difficult Mystery Solution

As usual, here's the first mystery picture. 


The thing we're looking for is pretty close to the center of the image - both top to bottom and side to side.
 

Again, it's pretty close to center, but just a little to the right. (And still very difficult to see, due to the backlighting.)


This is what we were looking at, and the lighting still isn't the best, but at least it's possible to see what the subject is!


It's a red-shouldered hawk sitting on her nest. If you look really carefully, you can see a couple little yellow fuzz balls.


She glared at me for my impertinent intrusion and I left her alone with her little ones.

Being the nosy, impertinent soul that I am, I came back the next day, when mom was out hunting and one of the fuzzy heads popped up for me to see. I tried to get both of them, but the second one was almost always behind the left-hand fork of the tree. 

The nest isn't too far down the trail from the barn on our family property, so while I was down there hunting for mushrooms and helping with gardens, I would check on progress every day. This was the first time we had seen the little tykes peering out at the great, wide world.

I hope it was worth the extra effort of trying to find the hidden treasure. And kudos to BetsyLee for spotting a nest in the forest. :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a privilege to find such a nest !! Usually, I'm walking along looking for fungi or wildflowers (or their seeds), never looking up off the ground for more than a few feet. Your pic reminds me to look up once in a while to see the wonders in the trees. Thank you. :^)

Hugs to ya, from BetsyLee

Webfoot said...

Yes, I'm very fortunate to be able to wander around in the woods almost every day. There's always something to dazzle the senses or inspire wonder.

And good eye to spot the nest in the trees. The pictures were not as useful as usual, due to the back lighting, but I was hoping it would be fun, anyway. A better mystery will be available soon. :)

Hugs back to you.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, what Excellent photographic (and patience) skills! Beautiful. Not likely to see on my own. Thank you for being so observant and sharing. TAP

Webfoot said...

Thanks, TAP! It's always a treat to get a glimpse into the secret lives of the creatures in the woods. :)

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to the next mystery !!

Hugs from BetsyLee

Anonymous said...

I so missed this one totally in all ways. Thanks for the solution!!!

Sheila

Webfoot said...

I'm not surprised, Sheila. I was disappointed in the clue photos, but thought I'd try it anyway, since you guys are so good at spotting things. :)

Anonymous said...

I could not see the mystery subject at all but am so happy to see the solution. What awesome pictures, I have not noticed this type of hawk before. Thank you for your patience in photographing the wee one, so adorable and sweet!!!

Shooz

Webfoot said...

Shooz, I'm not at all surprised you couldn't see the nest. This wasn't one of the best mysteries, but I thought it might be worth seeing if my sharp-eyed readers could find it - you guys have amazed me in the past! I hope the solution was worth the trouble! :)