My home isn’t exactly near the Mississippi River, but it’s only a half-hour walk or so depending on the weather, so my neighborhood is occasionally visited by raptors. It’s odd to occasionally see bald eagles circling over a busy main drag over tattoo shops and taco stands. Hawks get a little closer, like this one that decided to look for some chow on a nearby utility pole. As I’ve discussed before, hawks are lazy and take the easiest path to a meal, and this one stood there long enough to get me get some great photos.

September 6, 2026. Cropped from a larger image. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400mm, f/6.3, 1/1,250, ISO 400.