Calling, Calling, Calling

(Red-shouldered Hawk)

On a January trip with friends to Cambria, a small town on the California coast, piercing calls of a nesting pair of Red-shouldered Hawks caught our attention after hours of wind and heavy rain. Their maniacal, slow-motion shrieks signaled clearing weather and a gorgeous sunset. Once I realized how close they were to the BnB’s rear patio, I scurried to set up my scope and new device for attaching my iPhone. The Rube-Goldberg rig was supposed to enable me to capture telephoto-like images with just the phone camera. It actually worked and I was able to capture an image of the bolder of the two birds, who was watching my every move with suspicion. The photo was clear and detailed enough to provide an excellent reference image for my very first attempt at photo-realistic painting of birds with my iPad and ProCreate software.