Unexpected Surprise

Hi everyone!  I suppose a few of you thought I must have fallen off the face of the earth, but to the contrary, I'm still around!  My husband and I took some much needed time away and went on a 2-week road trip to do some leaf peeping.  We traveled through New England and the mid-eastern states during the last two weeks of October.  It was a wonderful trip and we saw so many gorgeous places just overflowing with the ripeness of autumn.  Breathtaking is the best word to describe it.  

I have tons of photos and I'm still processing some of them, but I thought I'd share these with you first- I was taken by surprise to see a hawk atop one of the memorials at the Gettysburg Military park. Initially I thought it was just my imagination when I spotted something moving on this memorial.  A moment later, I asked my husband to confirm what I thought I had seen- is that a hawk?  Is it real or am I seeing things?  He assured me that it was indeed a hawk.  I watched him (or her) for several minutes as he visually scanned his surroundings.  What a beauty!  I couldn't let this one get away without a few good shots.  For a moment he stared at me without even a flinch.  After getting what I wanted, I left him alone to tend his business (though I didn't want to!).  

It's my uneducated guess that this is probably a young Red-tailed Hawk.  What do you think? I don't know much about hawks, so please correct me if I'm wrong.  

I wish you all a great weekend ahead.  Thank you for stopping by!