Went down to Hackberry Flats in Frederick, Oklahoma on Sunday to see what was there. Found lots of hawks and shorebirds. This is one of the red tail images.
Canon 1D Mark IIN
Canon 500mm with 1.4x TC
1/800 sec, f/8
Mode: Av
Metering: Evaluative
Exp comp: +2/3
ISO: 400
Usually images of birds angled away are not my type of image at all, but this one has so many great attributes I dont mind the angle. Love the wing detail, soft backlight, and sharpness is good. Eye contact looks great also.
I would crop more room at the bottom and less at the top for a more balanced optical center.