Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Rough-Legged Hawk

The evening we arrived home from vacation, I noticed something in the edge of the field that I thought was the neighbor's cat. I got the binoculars and realized that it was a hawk eating a rabbit that it had just killed! I normally scare hawks off as soon as I open the patio door, but this guy was hungry and determined not to leave his dinner! I took several pictures of him on the ground, but he finally flew up into a tree when I got too close.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2021
Date Uploaded: 09.2021
Photo Location: Kempton, Indiana, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D3300
Copyright: © Lynn Johnson