Why Did The Red-tailed Hawk Cross The Road?

Sometimes when I’m photographing birds I find myself wondering “Why did that bird do that?”.  Arriving at a reliable answer can be an exercise in frustration but often I can’t help myself, even when the behavior in question is a trivial one.

First I need to set the stage.  On Antelope Island there’s a short, paved, curvy and very steep road that ascends to the Frary Peak trailhead.  At the base of the steep part of the hill is a rusty metal gate that can be closed to keep traffic from attempting to ascend the hill when the road is snow-covered.  There’s a component of the gate on each side of the road so that when both parts are swung towards each other and chained together vehicles cannot pass.

 

 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 About two years ago (9/27/12) I found this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk hunting from the north-side portion of the gate.

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 When the hawk pooped a few minutes later I suspected it was about to take off (many raptors often defecate just before lift-off).   And that’s exactly what happened.

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 Here the hawk is passing over the curved part of the road just before it ascends the hill.

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 And then it reached the edge of the rabbitbrush-lined road.  At this point I assumed the bird would continue its trajectory and be gone…

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 but then it began to flare…

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 and landed on the gate portion on the other side of the road, perhaps 25′ from its original perch.

 

 

  1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I really don’t know why it made the effort to fly across the road.  The view of potential prey from its new perch was virtually identical to that from the old one.  Perhaps it was reacting to my presence in my pickup but I can only speculate.  It hunted from its new perch for a few minutes and then…

 

 

  1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

flew aggressively after prey in the rabbitbrush a short distance from the gate.  The hawk obviously attempted to mantle something (mantling – “hunching shoulders and spreading wings over a recent kill to conceal it from other birds and predators who would be potential thieves”) but when it flew off a few moments later it did not have prey.

It may be a little silly of me to wonder why this hawk crossed the road.  But as a bird photographer it’s often very helpful to me if I can understand (and even anticipate) minor quirks of behavior so my mind does play with such things, especially when I’m reviewing my images.

And truth be told, I couldn’t resist having a little fun with my title…

Ron