Around 8 a.m. one morning, I noticed something large and brown moving quietly through the bushes near a local park. At first, I was not sure what I was
seeing, so I stopped and looked closer.
It was a Red Shouldered Hawk hunting at ground level. Instead of soaring high above, it was carefully searching through the brush just a few feet away from me. To my surprise, it was not bothered by my presence. In one swift movement, the hawk flew low beside me, caught a praying mantis, and rose to a nearby board. I watched as it tore the mantis into pieces and finished its meal. Afterward, it wiped and sharpened its beak against the surface, then stood upright and alert, calmly scanning the area again.
I used to work for a national wildlife conservation organization, supporting backend information systems. While I was not out in the field, the applications I helped build supported biologists and conservation teams in their work. Wildlife conservation has always been a part of me. On weekends, I carry that connection into local parks with my camera. Moments like this remind me that conservation is not only about large landscapes or distant expeditions. It is also about paying attention to the wild lives unfolding quietly around us every day. This encounter left more than a photograph. It left a lasting memory.
Sathish Sridha
