Friday was mild, but oh so windy. I had an earlier afternoon, and headed east to get out of the strongest of the gusts. With about an hour of daylight left I arrived at the South Platte River just outside of Brighton. There wasn't much to see, the wind was too strong even there for much of anything to be perched in the open. I did see one Red-tailed Hawk gliding by incredibly fast, and a few hardy Rock Pigeons that were imitating accipiters on the strong air currents. Eventually I struck gold. The Cooper's Hawk above was trying to take shelter beside some willows on the bank, and remained close to eye level for a few blurry shots. It flew off a short ways, and I continued on in the opposite direction, no need to follow a bird and make it continue to fight that breeze.
As I returned along the same path at dusk I kept my eyes peeled for the same bird. The wind had dropped off at sunset, and I was rewarded for keeping a sharp lookout. The bird had retreated into some more substantial trees, and appeared to be getting ready to roost. I took a few quick pics and then headed off, leaving the Cooper's Hawk to get some rest.
My birding was done for the day, but there would be a nice comparison Coop' later in the weekend.
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