1/640, f/8, iso 220.
Nice, Larry. The head and body look sharp and the blur in the wings conveys the energy being exerted. Judging by the fully zoomed image, you might look at a tighter crop. I think you have the detail to support it.
Beautiful bird. For my money, red shouldered hawks are the prettiest hawk, at least, for what we have around here! It is a nice unobstructed view; you navigated the perch well. It also looks like you manipulated the light angle as well as you could have here. Good that you were ready for the take-off. It does look like you have motion blur throughout the bird. In these situations, I always get myself set up for a take-off shot, just in case. So, I’d have upped the ISO until my shutter speed was at 1/2000.
Thanks for the feedback Lyle. I have started using this setting: manual mode with iso auto. All I had to do is rotate the command dial to take it from 1/640 to 1/2000 or faster. But, once again excitement ruled the day and I neglected to notice what shutter speed I was at. 