emace posted a photo:

There's an old landfill on Glenview on top of which they've built a golf course. I've driven past it a number of times over the years and always thought I should drive to the top of it. When I went over there a few weeks ago to hang out with my friend, Lee, he suggested that we drive up to the golf course parking lot and check out the view. It was a beautifully clear but rather windy day and it was possible to see the Chicago skyline (about 20 miles away) pretty crisply.

Since the landfill is the only high point in otherwise flat-as-a-pancake terrain, it has a habit of creating some pretty wicked updrafts on windy days. The local buteos have long ago figured this out and show up in droves to ride the wind. In less than half an hour, I counted 8 different redtails with this one being the only one to get close to us. I'll have to go back in a few weeks once the rough-legged hawks come back for the winter and see if I can't finally find one of 'em out there for a photo session.

None of these are quite what I would've hoped to capture but they are some of the best I've managed to capture of a hawk in flight. I chose the "rear view" above as the primary picture because it definitely had the greatest detail even thought it's not the pose I would've hoped to capture.

Made Explore Nov 3, 2008 #500

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