Pastel

On the More Mesa Bluffs near my home, there are many birds to find flying around. This Cooper’s Hawk came and perched on an isolated post further into the fields away from the path. So I of course wandered over to try to get a picture. As I was taking pictures of the hawk on it’s perch, it suddenly took off, flew within 6 feet of me at eye level and dove into a nearby bush after a rodent. It was amazing to see the intensity in it’s eyes as it flew past me, fixated on its prey. Unfortunately, it missed, but fortunate for the rodent. After accepting it’s loss, the hawk flew over to the perch in the photo. I quickly made my way over to the shrub and started to crawl through the dead brush to get a closer shot. It didn’t seem to mind that I was getting closer and just kept doing it’s thing, scanning for another chance at a meal. I eventually got 20 feet away and was able to capture this image. The sunset and the blue pastel hue from the mountains in the background make this a very pleasing image. When you look closely at the hawks eye, you’ll notice that it seems to have extra pupil in its eye, towards the bottom. After seeing that I will now know whenever I end up photographing this beautiful and cooperative hawk again.