Serendipity (a true noob's take on a Redtail Hawk...I think)

[JonA_CT]

My wife called to me today in a lull in the rain because she saw this guy in our neighbor's yard. It was a bit surprising because we live in a city. I only have a 28-75 lens, and I got within 10-12 feet or so before I spooked him. I still had to crop a lot (I get why y'all have crazy focal lengths) and the flight pictures are soft because a. I have no idea how to pan, and b. because I'm pretty sure single-point AF isn't ideal in this situation, and c. I panicked, and used F2.8.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my favorites.

redtailhawk by jwa04, on Flickr

redtailhawk-2 by jwa04, on Flickr

redtailhawk4 by jwa04, on Flickr

redtailhawk-3 by jwa04, on Flickr

 

[dxqcanada]

You are very fortunate to be able to get that close.
Pretty good for a newbie bird photographer using a non-telephoto lens.

 

[WesternGuy]

Very nice for someone just getting into bird photography.

WesternGuy