Posts Tagged: red-tailed Hawk

Rainbows and Red-tailed Hawks

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Red-tailed Hawk perched with rainbow in sky in background

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico is an outstanding place to photograph birds during the winter months. This picture was in mid December several years ago. I was traveling around the back section of the North Loop of the refuge after a wintry shower and this magnificent rainbow formed in the sky. I stopped to position myself to have a good view of the rainbow. As I was scanning for the ideal perspective, this Red-tailed Hawk swooped in and touched down on this bare tree with the rainbow as a backdrop. The hawk has undoubtedly just ingested a grisly meal, as shown by the blood of his prey on his feet and beak. Even though the Red-tail didn’t wipe his face and hands after eating, he finished my quest for that ideal rainbow picture viewpoint.