Red-tailed Hawk at Signal Hill

 Needing a break mid-day yesterday, I headed to Signal Hill to see if I could catch a glimpse of the lingering Red-tailed Hawk. This rare visitor has been around for more than a month delighting many birders.

 I forced myself to get out of the protection of the car and face the ice and wind in my effort to see this bird. I pulled myself up the icy trail by holding onto the barrier wall. At the top of the hill, the wind was even more daunting. Encountering another birder there, I was distracted enough to ignore the wind for a few minutes, long enough to scan the open area for the hawk. There were no good views of what seemed to be the distant bird flying below the battery.

 I headed down the hill back toward my car. There, hovering near the parking lot, was this great bird.

 With ice under my feet and the power of the wind at play, I braced against the retaining walk to prevent a "great slide."

 The Red-tailed Hawk put on a spectacular show of hovering, hunting and even provided a fly-by. This was much more than I was hoping for.... a true delight!

Now, morning dawns. How do I beat that today? Who knows? What I do know is you have to look, or you are guaranteed to see nothing.