Whoa! I wasn’t even paying attention. I popped out on our balcony to get a feel for how cold it was outside. I look over and there’s a red-tailed hawk hanging out. I almost missed it. The first photo in the gallery was taken at 70mm (so not a lot of zoom) and it blends in.

The best camera is the one you have with you, I think, is the saying. Initially, I just had my iPhone. After carefully scrambling, I grabbed my big camera, but I couldn’t find the zoom lens! So I grabbed a bunch of shots with the 24-70mm lens. The hawk was still hanging out so I took another look for my 70-200mm lens. Found it! I gingerly went back out on the balcony and was able to get some more photos.

The very last photo, the hawk acquired its target. I believe a pigeon was taking flight by the sounds I heard. The hawk took off so quick I couldn’t keep the camera on it.

In this tree, I’ve seen: a hawk, blue jays, cardinals, pigeons, and a scooter.