The red-tailed hawk is common in my neck of the woods and is most often seen soaring far above the fields or perched high in a tree. To see one up close is a rare treat.

The water was smooth and I'd tracked the egret as it flew, imtermittently skimming the water. I tried to get its feet just as they re-hit the water and was lucky enough to get its beak as it was about to break water. To me, the picture has a very Zen- and yoga-like feel to it. Oh, and I didn't realize wading birds had such long talons!

Compression is doing its evil thing on contest view. Please view enlarged full view to omit the jagglies and to see greater foot and talon details.

I really like the shadowy nature of this image, along with the muted color palette. I ended up cropping out quite a bit of the suns reflection on the left side, and I think it was for the better.

Please take the time to view all entries in full, please! Thank you and enjoy!

(Critiques suggestions wanted!)

Good luck to everyone!

This bird was hyper even for a bird. I took about twenty shots of its tail before it finally stopped and looked at me. Hence the title.

This bird found a leftover piece of dog food at our campsite. You can see it in his mouth. What a lucky beast! :)

I took this in April with a Samsung S85. It was the best bird picture of mine I could find. Good luck to my competitors:)!