Leroy on Final Approach. Leroy may believe that he’s a human (the result of early imprinting while being raised in captivity), but he still knows how to fly like a Harris’s Hawk. He’s demonstrating how amazingly fast, agile, and graceful he can be while positioning himself to land in a juniper tree. Leroy resides at the International Raptor & Falconry Center, a nonprofit wildlife shelter in Flagstaff, and he loves to show off.

Tech info: Nikon D850 camera with Tamron 150-600mm lens at 300mm, 1/5000 sec. at f11, ISO 1000.

Image ©2021 James D. Peterson