It was after lunch today.  I was brewing a second mug of coffee.  (I don’t often do that.)  Through the kitchen window I saw the bird.  It was sitting atop a birch tree whose top had broken off in last winter’s storm.  That broken trunk is larger than my upper arm.  (Yes, it is a large bird.)

Red-tail on birch tree

I couldn’t get a better shot than this one.  The hawk was searching the field on the other side of the tree.  That must have been fruitless.  It took to wing and flew away from me.

I was disappointed and wanted a better look.  That’s when it did a wing over, dived and reversed course. It flew at me.  Better view.  Turned.  Excellent view.  I watched in awe as the red-tail hawk flew away.  That’s when I remembered the camera.  Too late.