Birders help me out, is this a Cooper's Hawk? Once again waiting patiently at the right time and the right spot is the name of the game here.

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Set up my gear in one spot, early morning with frontal lighting and waited patiently for the birds to fly in.

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Thank you again for all the supportive comments. Trust me I have not arrived as an expert on flight photography. Each field experience presents new challenges and problem solving in terms of utilizing the proper camera settings,
lighting, flight patterns, etc. The inspiration comes from the birds themselves. Wonderful that the camera allows
us a glimpse into the unlimited beauty that birds (in flight) have to offer. It is worth the steep and ongoing learning curve.

Thank you all for such supportive comments. I simply love being "out there" and grateful for all the Biologists, Refuge Managers, Environmental Educators and Rangers and every involved that hold it all together.
BColin

Thank you all for such supportive comments. I simply love being "out there" and grateful for all the Biologists, Refuge Managers, Environmental Educators and Rangers and every involved that hold it all together.

Photographing birds well is a challenge. Photographing them in flight and movement is a skill worth learning. For me the ingredients are getting to your location real early, understanding the camera's settings for focusing fast moving objects, the right light and above all patience.

Osprey in Flight

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Osprey Landing

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Blue Jay attacking hawk-birders, help me out here. Thank You..

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Spoonbill Landing

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Osprey Take Off

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Reaching for a meal

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Writers such as Rachel Carlson motivate me to go out there to look with more curiosity and appreciation of raw nature.

"It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility. "

Thank you for the uplifting message.
Had great guides who understood photography.

Glad you liked "the moment". As naturalist John Burroughs writes: "The place to observe nature is where you are."
John Burroughs

So fortunate to be able to observe and photograph moments like these in nature without intrusion.

Thank you for your comments. Patience and using a decent tripod has a lot to do with it.

Just 15 minutes away from Times Square (via subway)
New York City's Central Park sometimes provides the most outstanding wildlife opportunities especially for bird photographers. Occasionally a dramatic moment in nature can be witnessed such as this series of Red-Tailed Hawk images claiming and fighting over their recently caught prey (gray squirrel).

Red Tailed Hawk with squirrel prey.

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Red tailed Hawk claiming squirrel prey.

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Two Red tailed Hawks fighting over squirrel prey.

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I asked the guides and they thought it might have been a monkey but they weren't quite sure. Whatever it was the eagle certainly enjoyed it.

Thankfully the wildlife is still there and we can photograph them in well managed parks with the wisdom and experience of exceptional guides.

Thanks for your response.

Thank you for the warm welcome.