RedTail

Red-tailed Hawk on a yucca stalk (in shadow)

Becca and I had just started up the trail that skirts the arroyo west of Tortugas Mountain when I happened to look toward the western bank and saw this large Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the tip of a Soaptree Yucca flower stalk.  He was completely in shadow so I did my best to capture a decent image.  Obligingly he took off and flew to a nearby Torrey Yucca that was in complete sunlight.  I probably shot about 30 images of him before he exited the perch.  We ran into Jimmy at the end of our trek this morning, and then were joined by JC and Olivia who were just starting out.  After we all went our separate ways I encountered a guy named Bill and his fourteen-year-old dog called Scottie.  Stood talking with Bill for well over a half hour, long enough to see JC and Olivia pass by on the final leg of their hike.

Same Red-tailed Hawk after flying to a Torrey Yucca in the sunshine

He sat patiently while I photographed him numerous times

Of course he was probably hunting for breakfast

You want a piece of this?

About to cross through the gully

Becca on the single-track

Getting a whiff of something

Sleek Loggerhead Shrike

Same Loggerhead Shrike

Same Ocotillo where the Loggherhead Shrike once was

In an arroyo

Looking the opposite direction up the arroyo

Headed back to Tortugas