It’s really tough. No, I don’t mean trapping them with nets or jumping on them from adjacent tree limbs, but rather taking photographs of hawks. Even with my new piece of glass, I still find the need to creep closer, and that’s when they take off. I’m not sure if it is just me standing out as the only person in the area, if it is this enormous lens that I am pointing at them, or if I just am having bad luck, but I’d like to remediate the situation. I’ve considered getting a teleconverter, but since that would then disable auto-focus, I’d pretty much be restricted to perch shots. I’ve also more playfully considered getting one of these, but I’d prefer to not scare the bejesus out of everyone in the park. It’s funny, this photography thing. You get new equipment and less than a week later you already want additional equipment. For me, it’s an endless cycle of never being satisfied with what I’ve got, but my limited budget is trying to convince me otherwise. Here are a few typical shots of hawks I captured over the past few days:

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Red-tailed hawk – Baisley Pond Park, QN

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Red-tailed hawk – Flushing Meadows Corona Park, QN

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