Ferruginous Hawks of Utah’s West Desert

The Ferruginous Hawk is a strikingly handsome raptor with its stocky build, white underparts and rufous coloration.  It is the largest North American hawk and has several distinctive features including the fact that its legs are feathered all the way down to the feet.  The Rough-legged Hawk is the only other hawk on this continent to share this trait. 

I’ve had a devil of a time getting many photos of this species that I like.  For me they’ve been difficult to find in the first place and then there’s the issue of getting near enough to them for quality images as they generally don’t allow a close approach.  My best luck with the species has been in the foothills of Utah’s west desert mountain ranges.   

 

 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

I found this bird earlier this week and spent quite a while “sneaking” up on it very slowly in my pickup.    I ended up getting reasonably close before it  flew off.  The hawk is relaxed enough with me in its presence to perform a nice wing stretch. 

 

 

 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

These birds tend to hunt high off the ground and no matter how slowly I try to approach them while they’re in the air they usually maintain a minimum distance from my truck that is too far away for good photographs.   Very occasionally however one will apparently become curious about me and fly in close – always with its eye on me and not on any potential prey on the ground.   It’s usually one quick fly by and the bird is gone. 

 

 

 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

Obviously this hawk is taking off, which I hoped for as is evidenced by my high (too high) shutter speed.   And it actually took off toward me which is quite unusual.  Head on flight shots are difficult though and I only got two after it took off – one where I clipped a wing feather and another where the head wasn’t quite as sharp as I like. 

 

 

 1/800, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

I liked this image because of the fanned tail, demonstrating that this species lacks the dark tail banding found in other hawks. 

 

 

 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc 

Here’s a couple of images that illustrate additional reasons why this species is difficult to photograph well.   Ferruginous Hawks, when not hunting from relatively high elevations, like to rest on tall perches – particularly ugly telephone poles.  So your best bet for a decent shot is to catch them taking off so the perch doesn’t show in the image (thus my high shutter speed again).  But of course this one took off away from me so I trashed the shots. 

 Another issue with photographing this species is the relatively bright whites of the chest.  In light that is at all harsh (from the shadow on the perch you can see that the sun is already fairly high) it’s often difficult to get much detail in the whites without blocking up the darks, especially if the bird is facing the sun. 

 

 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc

I had high hopes for this bird when I approached it because it let me get close, the early morning light was warm and golden but I still had enough shutter speed to freeze the take-off and the hawk wasn’t facing away from me on the perch.  But of course it turned away from me as it took off and in the best shot I got it was looking away and hadn’t yet cleared the wires. 

I have to keep reminding myself that bird photography ain’t easy !  And those difficulties are compounded when you refuse to bait, your subject is relatively rare and elusive and your best chance for a good photo is with a flight shot which is inherently difficult anyway.  Though “great shots” are a joy to get, half the fun is in the quest.  At least that’s what I keep telling myself…

Ron