Christmas came a little late this year.

I had to run some errands around noon yesterday, and came back to a freshly killed pigeon in the backyard. This isn't a common thing, but I do know that there is a local hawk that likes to prey on the pigeons that have taken up residence in the neighborhood. I've been seeing him more and more lately.

I must have just scared him off the kill since it was just below freezing and the prey was still limp. I knew the hawk would come back for it, so I moved the pigeon to a more visible location (an old flower pot in the middle of the yard), grabbed a pair of binoculars, and set up the camera on the tripod.

The hawk made three or four trips back to the scene, but wouldn't take the bait with me standing there. He flew from tree to tree between 10 and 30 yards away, and scoped out the location for about three hours. He would occasionally fly off into the distance, I assume waiting for me to leave. Every time he came back, he'd stare at me for a few minutes, I'd offer him a beer, and he'd disappear again.

Finally, around 4PM, he landed on the ground and cautiously approached, hopped up on the pigeon, and carried it off for a private feast. I got a few photos over the course of three hours, but this one is the best:

Two more, the rest are either out of focus or too far away to make out any detail.

Cool pictures.

Nice pics thanks for sharing.