Raptors!

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum has an impressive Raptor Flight "show" that I highly recommend. I admittedly to not know much at all about birds, but I wanted to post some of my pics from my visit this morning.

The birds fly untethered out in the open desert and literally whoosh within inches of the spectators.
 
They started things off with a Chihuahuan Raven. My Raven pics aren't the best, so keep looking past them.

 Next came the Great Horned Owl.

I even managed to catch it in flight.

The Prarie Falcon:

The Ferruginous Hawk:

The Ferruginous Hawk in flight:

Finally, we have the Harris's Hawk. This one took flight, gained altitude and circled high above until the member of the museum staff gave the signal for it to dive in. It was an impressive dive. I managed to catch it swooping downward, like a guided missile.

Up close and personal with the Harris's Hawk:

This amazing display happens twice daily. For most of us seeing these beautiful birds in action is a wonderful and rare thing.