This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) seemed to be facing in the opposite direction when a sharp-eyed fellow photographer spotted it in a tree across a field. We were able to move quite a good distance across the field before the hawk became aware of our presence and took off.
Instead of flying up into the air, the hawk flew downwards initially and then flew behind the stand of trees, so I was unable to get any mid-flight shots with the sky as the background. However, I did manage to capture a sequence of shots as the hawk was getting ready to take off and also shortly after the takeoff.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Fantastic!
Thanks, Sally.
A magnificent bird!
Indeed. A wonderful combination of beauty and power.
Great job!!
Thanks. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to be able to get these shots.
And an excellent photogher I will add!!!
What a wonderful series of images, each one sharp and crisp and with catch lights in the bird’s eye. I think the final image is the strongest.
Thanks, Laura. Once again I am impressed that you looked closely enough at the images to see the details. I agree that the final image is the best–it has better separation from the background, which makes the subject stand out more.
Nice time-series of images, Mike — good thing you were photowalking with a hawk-eyed friend! 😉
Thanks,Walter. A little before he spotted the hawk, he was eagle-eyed too.