Hanging with the Hawk

Murph and I took advantage of the sun and minimal haze today and visited the refuge. Several herons hung out but today's feature was a rough-legged hawk.  He watched us park our truck, flew up to a closer tree when we got out, then played 'catch me if you can' as we hiked the dike. The great part was he was not spooked by Murph, and only slightly by me.
On our way back to the truck, he was showing off for a couple of camera folks, but then one person pulled up, opened her door and got out and let the door slam and away he went! Fortunately he was used to me by then so he flew in my direction very close by.  Ha!

The raptors are smart and have a lot to teach us if we are wiling to listen - they are also playful. Here's a couple of shots of the hawk and a couple of other features that interested me. By the way, the hoarfrost on the teasels and bulrushes is fantastic - worth a visit all for seeing that.