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: