Swainson's Hawk just after lift offSwainson’s Hawk just after lift off

This is an adult Swainson’s Hawk just after it lifted off from the barb wire on top of a fence on Antelope Island State Park a few days ago. I love the position of the feet & talons, the flared tail, and the position of the hawk’s right wing. I do wish though that bird had looked more towards me.

I did clone out some of the barbed wire at the bottom of the frame in this image.

Bird photography isn’t a cake walk, you can have all the gear, know how to use it, know what settings to use, and you can still get images that aren’t “great” because the subjects are alive, they don’t always fly off the way we hope, and they don’t always do what we would like them to do.

But that is the part of bird photography that keeps it exciting.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Swainson’s Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.