One autumn afternoon, while photographing the autumn colors at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, I spotted this red-tailed hawk perched in a tree overlooking the grassy area from where I was shooting. It had to have been there prior to my arrival, since hawks would typically not land this close to someone.

I made several exposures, assuming that it would likely fly soon, but it didn't. I very slowly inched closer over the next 30 minutes, taking several exposures each time. I reached my distance limit - any closer and the bird would have become nervous, so I turned to leave her be.

I loved the setting of the old oak branches in autumn gold and the soft lighting provided by the high clouds.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon 100-400mm f/4.5/5.6L IS @ 400mm, 1/400 sec @f/6.3, ISO equiv 400, Calumet 8000 Carbon Fiber Tripod, Gitzo G1276 Ballhead