Living in the desert southwest, wildlife encounters are frequent, but being there to photograph predator and prey, life & death, as it occurs is something special. This Coopers Hawk swooped down and killed a Gambol's Quail and began dining in a mesquite tree near our house. Using a Tamron 150-600 mounted on my Nikon D-810, handheld, I shot as many frames as I could without disturbing the feeding hawk. At one point, the raptor focused it's intense gaze right at me, as if to say, "this one's mine, go get your own." It was a special moment and a privilege to witness nature's sometime harsh means of keeping things in balance.
Equipment: Nikon D-810, Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3g at 550mm, f/8, 1/800 second.