On our way to the store yesterday, about a block from our house, there was a man starting to mow a section of grass alongside the road. It was one of those large mowers that pulls behind a tractor. We turned right and I noticed a red tailed hawk swooping down low and then perching right up on this telephone pole. We thought he was being sneaky, getting a hunt-free lunch from the rodents that the mower would rustle up – and we knew he was going to be there for a few minutes so we quickly made a big circle around the block and went back for my camera.
We came back, pulled into a driveway and I got a few shots of him. I got out of the car and stood about 30 feet from the base of the pole, and he did this: