Thank you Navy. Much appreciated!

Great images Gary.

Very nice set Larry.

Hi Wayne, yep it's a Red Tail juvenile. There are several distinguishing markers to look for on the Red Tail juvenile. The first and most distinctive is the black patagium or shoulder area, and they also have a fully black outline to the primary wing tips. Another good marker when viewed from the back when they are sitting is a white stripe on each side creating a 'v' when seen from the back. Also distinctive is the white chest and dark belly band.

Thanks Katy

Robert, For these photos I used a Nikon D810 with either the Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8D or the AF-S VR Micro Nikkor 105 f/2.8G. I used the 80-200 on the first six and the 105 on the last three with ISO 400 on all images. From the top, 200mm f/6.3 1/1000; 200mm f/2.8 1/1000; 200mm f/7.1 1/1000; 200mm f/16 1/1000; 145mm f/5.6 1/1250; 135mm f/7.1 1/1000. The last three are consecutive pictures taken with the fixed 105mm at 1/400 second f/5.6 with ISO 400. Sorry, I am new to uploading and I need to remember to put this info with the images. Thanks for the comments Robert.

Thanks for the comments Sylvias, Swamp-Cork and Imagemeister.

I have a regular visitor to my back yard who is helping me to remove unwanted mice and is kind enough to allow me to photograph his labors.

(Download)

I'm always happy to see him Tikva. He came by again today and let me approach to minimum focus distance with my Nikkor 80-200. After getting quite a few good photos, I left him to continue his good work. I'll post a few of the new photos below.

Thanks for the nice comment Karin.

Thanks so much for the comment Waterfalls.

Thanks so much for the comment PHV.

Thanks so much for the comment Don.

Thanks Swamp-Cork. it's not an everyday visitor here either, but not uncommon.

I agree meowmix. I don't think it's the artistic medium that is important. Photo, paint, watercolor, sculpture or film, no matter. It's what you have to say with the medium you are using that is important. I had an uncle who was a renown artist in California. I once visited his studio and saw that he had repainted the same image a dozen times, each slightly different. I asked him why, and he said he had an idea and he was trying to express it fully on the canvas. He destroyed all the paintings that did not completely express his thought. The digital camera allows us to do the same, but if you allow the camera to make decisions for you, you give up creativity. To me, the camera is just a tool, and knowing how fully use the capacity of the tool in all situations is important, but capturing your vision in a final product that expresses your vision is the goal. At least to me. I love digital.
Steve