From a local raptor lover's point of view, there are probably few more desired sightings than an adult Northern Goshawk on a crisp fall day at Hawk Ridge in Duluth. For many years I was the counter at Hawk Ridge, so the scene is loaded with memories. From a painter's point of view, there is probably no better way to set off the gleaming blue-gray back of a goshawk than the oranges of fall color, since blue and orange are complements on the color-wheel. It also helps the painting that the blue-gray color from the sky is pulled down into the hawk, and that adult goshawk's have deep red eyes to match the fall color! As I worked on this painting, I often thought about the historical perspective of seeing an adult goshawk at Hawk Ridge. They used to be seen by the thousands during "invasions" that occurred every ten years due to cyclical shortages in their food supply, mostly Snowshoe Hares and Ruffed Grouse. The adult birds, who would normally stay further north during the winter, would be forced south in search of food during these periods. These invasions were documented at Hawk Ridge in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but lessened by the 1990s and 2000s, and then by the time I came to Duluth in the 2010s, the invasions no longer occurred and we were lucky to see a few hundred goshawks all season, mostly immatures. So in a lot of ways, this painting is also a sort of "memoriam" to what must have been a truly amazing sight: to see hundreds of these fierce, ghostlike raptors passing by "The Ridge" in a single October day!