Once upon a time, Pueblo Colorado had a steel mill. That time was a while ago and, as often happens, when the largest employer leaves, there’s not a lot left behind. Pueblo has a zoo, which I went there to see but the combination of reduced revenues and the onset of winter meant that many of the animals were off exhibit or no longer there. So instead of spending my day at the zoo as I had planned, I popped next door to their raptor center. The center does rescue work and most of the birds there either couldn’t fly or couldn’t take care of themselves so they’re kept in fairly large enclosures. Some of the photos turned out. A lot didn’t. However, as I taking the photos, one of the rescue workers came out and offered to bring a bird out for me to see close up.

I picked the Swainsons Hawk because I’d never seen one close up.

As is often the case, I picked the most cantankerous creature there, who was hard to catch and spent a lot of time trying to eat my new friend’s fingers. However, every once in a while, the lighting landed at the right time and shots like this came out.