This is one of the old essays I mentioned in the Welcome post.  I-43 runs from Beloit, in south central Wisconsin near the Illinois border roughly 200 miles through Delavan, East Troy, Milwaukee and Sheboygan, ending near Green Bay.  Several times friends saw me stopped along the freeway looking through my camera at some obscure thing only I could see. 

Hawkin’ Down the highway

    There I was, minding my own business driving up I-43 going - well, as fast as everybody else was - and my eye was caught by what appeared to be a large squirrels nest in the middle of a dead tree straight ahead of me, about 100 feet from the highway.  You know the kind, bunches of leaves and sticks bunched together on the flimsiest branch that hangs out over the busiest street in town.  Except this one was firmly in the center of the tree and I glanced to the side as I passed it.  There I saw the silhouette of a large bird.  In my excitement I thought it might be an eagle.  I’ve been trying to see an eagle in the wild from closer than two miles all my life.  Unfortunately I had neither binoculars or camera with me and I was going - well, as fast as everybody else - on my way to downtown Milwaukee.  For the next two days I thought I’d try again to see the bird, or birds, but I would leave the house without the proper equipment and not remember until I was past the point of no return.

    Finally on the fourth day I remembered both camera with telephoto lens and binoculars.  Just before getting to the nest site I saw a bird circling the sky and I knew I was close.  As I pulled over as far as possible I saw the silhouette of another adult bird sitting on the nest.  I turned off the car and turned on the flashers and got out with the camera and the binoculars and took a look just as the beautiful bird took flight.  It was a very large red-tailed hawk and sailed toward the ground, then up to a tree across the clearing from it’s nest.  Naturally I followed and photographed it, but then turned my attention back to the nest.  I switched from the camera to the binoculars and back again and while I was looking through the binoculars two fuzzy little heads popped up from the nest. One of them was brave enough to climb up on the side of the nest and stretched its little wings as if to take flight.  One of the parents was there in a flash with food, prompting the brave little trooper to drop back to safety so its sibling didn’t get all the food.

    I watched the nest for a time, hoping that little guy would pop up again, but time was flying instead and I had to leave.  Just as I was turning to load my equipment back into the car and pull away I saw both adults sitting at the top of a tree about thirty feet from the nest.  I took a few more pictures of them sitting there and got into my car.  As the door closed they took off in unison, soaring out over the highway.  I felt like the whole show had been put on just for me and they left when the audience was leaving, taking their bows as they flew away.  I left for downtown with tears in my eyes at the wonder of what I’d seen, knowing the other drivers were oblivious to the beauty of it all.