There are two kinds of endemic birds of prey in Hawaii. One is the pueo, the Hawaiian short-eared owl. I see these birds on a regular basis, particularly while driving on Old Saddle Road. Search for ‘pueo’ on this blog and you’ll find a raft of photos.
The other endemic bird of prey is the Io or Hawaiian hawk. Search for ‘io’ on this blog and you’ll find a post with the letters ‘i’ and ‘o’ in the title. That’s because I rarely see these birds. I sometimes see them circling high above, scouting for prey, but not where a photo could be taken. And once, an io landed in the yard when it snagged a small rodent. My wife saw this; I was in the bathroom. By the time I emerged, the bird was gone.
So this photo, while not exactly stellar, is a first for me. Again this was a bird circling above the neighborhood. I tried to get photos, but as they tend to do, this one drifted away out of sight. I went round to the other side of the house, hoping to spot it again, and was surprised to see it again, not only gliding back in my general direction, but losing altitude as it did so.
I snapped a few photos before it dipped below the tree line and disappeared for good, and I was happy to get this shot with the sun illuminating the wing and the distinctive beak also prominent.
Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Kind.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 
That’s quite a feat to get such a picture. Respect! It’s so difficult to get “a good one” of birds of prey. I wish I could get a picture of this quality of “my” buzzard, because it’s so beautiful and I enjoy watching it patrolling, searching and suddenly dive to get a mouse. There’s something majestic over these birds. I’m glad you were lucky and skilled enough to “get” this beauty. 👍
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I have lots of photos of pueos (owls), but they often perch on posts which is helpful, or circle not far off the ground. Ios just seem to stay in the air. Good luck with your buzzard. One day it will all come together for you.
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wow you certainly should be happy with this shot. Fabulous . . some birds of prey just seem to know how to out wit the camera, so wonderful when you find yourself just in the right place
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They certainly outwit me, not that it’s hard to do.
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We all have birds that outwit us!
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