This morning we headed north once again in quest of Golden Eagles. We found a few but they were too far away for decent photographs. The consolation prize was this cooperative Swainson’s Hawk – our first of the season which delighted us. In fact there were two of them, hanging out in the same general area.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
This bird was particularly fond of a couple of telephone poles in northern Box Elder County. Here it is returning to the pole after leaving it for a short and unsuccessful hunting foray. I’m not particularly happy with the wire and insulator but I liked the landing pose.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
Sometimes this hawk perched on the top of the pole but one time it landed on the second wire strung below the first one. Here it is taking off from that position with the pole directly out of frame to the left. I like the dynamics of the take-off in contrast to the greater concentration demanded during landing.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
I got a few shots of the hawk in full flight with legs tucked away cleanly.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
Another take-off and for this one I had to clone out a small bit of the wire at lower left. Cloning is something I don’t like to do but I do succumb to the temptation occasionally in certain situations. A judgement call…
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
I was quite pleased with these last two flight shots, considering it was late in the morning and the sun was quite high.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4
As I photographed this bird I thought of the happenstance of our meeting. Swainson’s Hawks winter in South America, which means that most of them migrate over 12,000 miles round trip between breeding grounds and wintering areas – a distance second among raptors only to that of the Arctic Peregrine Falcon. And fate brought us together at this telephone pole out in the middle of nowhere. Pretty neat!
We missed out on the eagles again but for me this Swainson’s made the 200 miles of driving well worth the trip. Besides, we were able to stop in Brigham City for lunch at Maddox Drive Inn – one of our all-time favorite feed buckets!
Ron
Wonderful images! You captured them so well.
These are such beautiful raptors. I can’t explain it, but I’ve mentioned here before how I love the human artifact/bird shots. I am in awe of shot #2. Lovely series, Ron!
I really like the elegance and suppressed power so clearly visible in these shots.
Thank you. Again.
I agree with you on your thoughts on cloning. I very rarely do it, but sometimes something presents itself that makes me rethink it. Like the case of your hawk. All the cloning would have done would have been to have given you an empty sky. Like I would clone out a beer can if it was ruining a nice image. But I wish I had the opportunities that you have to get such great images of the raptors.
Oh man, Ron… the Argentinians are back! Haven’t seen one yet, so your gorgeous shots are excellent motivation to keep eyes skyward. The cleanly contrasted plumage of adult light morph Swainson’s is always so stunning to me. From the prey remains and dried blood on it’s bill and feet, it looks like this bird ate in preparation for your photo session! Love each shot, but as with Bob, my favorites are 1035 and 1003.
Always delighted to get your input Mike, particularly on raptor shots. I knew you’d be excited about the return of the Swainson’s if you hadn’t seen any yet.
Ron, you could have cloned out the wires and pole and no one would have noticed. I have done that in the past. Great photos, though. I like #1035 for the pose, #1003 is probably my favorite.
Thanks Bob. I like those two shots also. Regarding cloning, I just don’t like to do it except for cleaning up dust bunnies, spots on the surface of water and sometimes adding canvas – things like that. I guess I’ve just seen too many shots posted on critique forums etc where there’s obviously very little left of what was really there. But I’ll admit that if one is going to do it at all it’s a difficult call to know where to draw the line. Something I struggle with occasionally…