Thursday Challenge—"best of 2012"

This is not the shot that got the biggest response
from visitors to my blog, but of all the thousands
of pictures I took last year, I think this one of a
Galapagos hawk is my absolute fave—maybe because
it's a special souvenir of a once-in-a-lifetime trip, maybe
because this bird let me get up close and personal.  I did
zoom in a little bit here, but was still standing close 
enough to touch him when I snapped this picture!

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, visit Dale's meme.]