Last week, partially in an effort to get away from the aggravations of the blog hosting problems I’d been having, I decided to make the extra long drive to extreme northern Utah in a quest for Swainson’s Hawks. We found quite a few and a delightful bonus was a plethora of Ferruginous Hawks in the same vicinity.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, not baited, set up or called in, canvas added, wires removed
Most of the raptors in the area were hunting from power poles and this dark morph Ferrug was no exception so the only chance for acceptable images was in flight or during take-off. And this one added a little drama to the shot by seeming to cuss us out as it took off.
I’m always happy to encounter the dark morph. Sibley says that fewer than 10% of Ferruginous Hawks are of the dark phase and from what I’ve seen of them in the field that number seems to be about right.
Ron
That is SICK!!
Sometimes I am very sorry that I don’t speak the languages of the birds. I am sure I would learn some useful new phrases.
Stunning photo – thank you.
I suspect that neither you nor I have a great need to learn many more “useful” new phrases like this one was apparently spouting, Elephant’s Child 🙂
YOU’RE BACK!!! YAY!!! Wonderful shot…can almost hear him!
I’ve missed you too, Patty. Thanks.
He’s a beauty … and fabulous capture as always. Yes, he’s definitely talking to you. We have several hawks who pop by our place when the bunnies or the chipmunks get too numerous. I always wonder why they announce that they’ve arrived by calling out so loud and clear. Seems like they’re taunting their prey just before they strike. Or maybe they’re telling me to come out with the camera and the long lens … of course, as soon as i do they flit away.
I’ve often seen the same behavior in that situation, Lois. I suspect it might be an attempt to warn off other potential competitors (raptors especially) of the potential prey…
I can just about hear it! Great shot!
Thanks, Tana.
Wow, what a beauty! I’m glad to see your wonderful photos again! I just read that the Swainson hawk migration will start soon and they are south-bound to Argentina!
Yup, they’re about ready to start heading south, Kim – WAY south. I’ll miss them, as I do every year. So much in fact that I’m thinking about another extended trip to catch them before they leave…
I’m glad to hear that you were seeing more juvenile Swainson’s Hawks. I was surprised by the number of Swainsons when we were recently driving across North Dakota. We spotted a lot of them sitting on hay rolls by the side of the highway, a much lower perch than I would have expected.
This is a great shot of the Ferruginous hawk. I love all the action.
Susan, In this area we see them a lot on the sprinkler systems used for agricultural irrigation – not very high hunting perches either.
Takes my breath away Ron! What a gift you have! Thanks for sharing!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
What a spectacular shot. Are the ferug’s always up north or are they migrating? So glad your blog is back. I’ve missed my daily dose of great bird pictures and knowledge gathering.
Thank you, Tanja, Ferrugs are migratory but in Utah many of them are here year around.
That’s an impressive flight shot. What a pity our still shots don’t record sound!
Thanks, Sonja. Just looking at the image brings back the sound in my head…