Red Tail Hawk, Black Morph

After a little planting, trimming and weeding in the garden, we decided to take a break and go to our favorite bakery for a little pick-me-up: a cappuccino and a chocolate biscotti for me, and an espresso and shortbread for Mr S. Decaf, in case you're wondering. Then a little stroll on the cliffs. What with one thing and another, I haven't been to that path for awhile and I needed an ocean hit. What caught my eye were two birdwatchers, one with binos and one with a hella big camera, and this is what they were looking at. I stepped right up with my pocket camera, and I'm happy with this image--it shows his beautiful red tail and his alert face. Turned out we knew one of the guys, and had a pleasant time chatting. They've been keeping tabs on the hawk for a couple days and were quite sure of the identification. Lucky me.