This Red-tailed Hawk is a part of the educational and flight demonstration program at the Center for Birds of Prey.

Due to the program setup I was not on the side to see his fully lit body but got backlighting of his tail, which is quite pretty.

A key take-away lesson from the center is Don’t Litter! This bird lost his right eye after being hit on a roadway, most likely trying to catch prey that somewhere down the food chain was after something discarded from a vehicle. The medical team was able to remove the eye and he recovered from his other injuries, however he cannot safely be released as he cannot reliably hunt to feed himself.

The Center for Birds of Prey,  Awenda, SC
June 24, 2021