Flying Hawk

Excellent winds let the hawk float about 6 feet away from me for a short time. Quite convenient for photography.

More Red-Tail

There were people on this beach maybe 15 feet away when the hawk landed. They got closer and it just sat, spending lots of time watching the grass, likely trying to figure out how to catch the voles that lived in there.

Red Tail Headshot

The hawk really did let me get mighty close, probably within 8 feet.

Immature Red Tail Hawk

No I did not spend last week at a falconry show. I was on vacation on the Cape where the wi-fi access was too spotty for posting. The hawk above actually landed on my hotel roof, then proceeded to land on a post right outside by porch. It then hung around for about 20 minutes total, though some of that was back on the roof. There were numerous people approaching to photograph and it didn't seem startled much. This photo is cropped slightly to cut out the two people in the background also photographing the bird. I took roughly 10 photos a minute while it was hanging around. You can never take too many photos of an unlikely critter. More cape critters to come, including more hawk pics.

Snow and Hawk

Finally got some snow. We actually got two days worth, but this is from Friday. Right before I had to leave for work I spotted this red-shouldered hawk in my neighbor's yard. He was obliging enough to fly a little closer. He got close enough that even my awful telephoto lens could catch something decent.