Sunday, January 26, 2014

Bird on a wire

This summer,  I would often see a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on one of the wires along a certain stretch of road either going to work or on my way home. Naturally, when I had the time to stop it was never in sight, but when I was running late it would be there without fail. Finally, though, I lucked out—it was there one August afternoon when I had plenty of time to hang out and take pictures to my heart's content:


Scratching its head:




Posing for me:


Without warning, it took off from its perch, and I figured that was it:


But rather than flying off, it flew straight down into the pasture beneath it:


Whatever it was after, it was unsuccessful in its attempt to catch it. However, it gave me a great look at those gorgeous tail feathers:



Once it situated itself on a nearby tree, I repositioned myself and resumed photography:




I'm not quite sure why, but at one point it clenched one of its talons into a fist for a bit:




Time for some grooming:


I really liked how its hackles are standing out in this shot:





Seconds after assuming this position, the hawk... cleaned out its system:


And then took off while it was pointed right towards me:




Happily, it didn't go very far, resettling on the wires again. The sun was also out at that moment, bringing out the colors of the hawk's feathers really nicely:





The sun went back behind some clouds, but I was still able to get some decent shots of the bird as it settled in for a bit more grooming:





Shaking itself out:



Preparing to take off for the last time:



But at least it flew into the sunlight as it departed:




One final look as it headed out over the trees:


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