Buzzard Patience

I set out tonight to find a sit spot and wait for the fauna come to me. I found a spot along a Bocage-or hedgerow. These areas are full of birds and other wildlife. The cloud cover made the evening light soft and dark. Not ideal, but still doable. I waited for a good half an hour before the first bird came close. A pair of chaffinch landed on some grasses about 20 metres/yards away. I managed to get one shot before he flew away. As the sun was setting a burst of wings flew off the ground about 50 metres away across the field. This Common Buzzard (Buteo Buteo) set up an observation point across from me. As I watched him, I thought, we are doing the same thing. He's looking for prey. Patience is his king. I need the same. Sitting and waiting is not my forte. I usually walk around looking for something to shoot. Waiting, hoping for something to appear is something I want to get better at.
For most of my life, waiting has seemed a waste of time. I always wanted it now. That instant gratification. Waiting for summer vacation to start, turning 16 and a drivers licence, turning 21 and being able to buy alcohol. Waiting seemed pointless. After 21, there weren't many things to look forward to anymore, at least not milestones like I had when I was younger. Time moved like molasses back then.
I've always loved birds of prey. They have fascinated me since I was a boy. A book my mom read me had a boy that raised a hawk and I wanted so badly to do the same. The patience needed to train a hawk was beyond my boyhood imagination's bounds. I recently read a book H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. A beautiful and inspiring story. The story resonated with me in more ways than one. Patience was one big takeaway. Something I'm going to try to develop. Today time passes by in the blink of an eye. Those big milestones rush at us faster than we want. Develop patience. The patience of hunger. Predators live that patience. When we are hungry the food can't be ready quick enough. This hawk can go for days without eating. Its patience allows it to believe that it will succeed eventually. It watches everything. Time doesn't fly it watches.

Photo: ©2022 Phil Wahlbrink
Rue des Grives
Bellevue, France