Beautiful Morning Light

Swainsons Hawk on a Fencepost

I love watching these majestic birds and I’m always happy when they share a few minutes of their time with me! I particularly love it when I get to see them in the soft light of the early morning. Because of the very early sunrise at this time of year, that means getting up very early. Unfortunately that hasn’t worked out very often for me lately, so I have to make the best of those days that I do get out early.

Swainsons Hawk perched on a Fencepost

Swainsons Hawk preparing to launch

Swainson’s Hawk on a Power Pole

I’m always get very excited when I see a perching hawk somewhere close enough to make a nice portrait, and even though I have hundreds of similar images, I always have to stop to try to make another one!

More often than not hawks fly away as soon as they sense that I’m even thinking about pointing my camera at them; however, every once in a while, one will actually cooperate and allow me to take a few shots before it flies. This Swainsons actually sat and watched me very intently from its perch at the top of a power pole for a few minutes (and gave me some very nice poses) before launching…