Rough-legged Hawk (and a bit of a minor mystery)

When I see something in my images that I can’t explain it piques my interest. Even when it’s something relatively minor.

 

rough-legged hawk 1911 ron dudley

 1/5000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I photographed this Rough-legged Hawk soon after it took off from a power pole three weeks ago in Tooele County. The origin of the white blob on its left foot had me stumped. I have a half-dozen shots of the bird in flight but only two of them show the mystery “substance”.

 

 

rough-legged hawk 1911 big crop ron dudley

Even a large crop of the same image to show more detail didn’t solve the mystery for me. The only thing I could think of is the possibility that the bird stepped in fresh excreta on the perch but in other shots the perch looks clean and this bird defecated prior to takeoff and that excreta clearly missed the perch. Besides, the perfectly round blob didn’t look like poop to me.

 

 

 

 

rough-legged hawk 1915 ron dudley

  1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

 I can’t see the blob in most of the other images of the hawk in flight.

 

 

rough-legged hawk 1913 ron dudley

1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

However, in preparing this post I decided to look more carefully at the second image that shows the white blob (I clipped the wings in this shot) and in that one the light and view are just different enough to make me think the blob is likely nothing more than the bulbous end of one of the toes with glaring light on it (perhaps it has also been stained with excreta or something else light-colored).

Much ado about nothing, I know.  But I enjoy clearing up these little mysteries, even when the apparent solution is as mundane as this one.

Ron

15 Comments

  1. Beautiful shot and interesting crops!
    Charlotte

  2. Mysteries like that are crazy-making until you can figure them out. Glad you apparently did figure this one out (I would agree with what you decided). This is one gorgeous bird.

  3. It is the pad of the toe they bump up when the foot is relaxed or curled.

  4. Love that you are interested enough (obsessed enough) to try and track down the mystery. The way that discoveries are made and problems solved.
    I love the roughie too.

  5. When obsevant, knowledgable people like you notice things that are out of the ordinary a lot of small problems can be handled before they become too big to…keep it up. If it turns out to be nothing, great!

    • Thanks very much, Patty. I’ll admit though, that a lot of my curiosity about this was fueled because I thought the “blob” sort of ruined the image and I wanted to know what was responsible.

  6. deborah donelson

    I was also thinking that the talon might be missing. We get birds with a “stubby” like this from time to time at Wildlife Rescue. In smaller birds it can be from frostbite or mouse traps…

    • Deborah, I just now went back and looked closely at a blown up version of one of the other images of this bird and it appears that the talon is not missing, though I can’t be 100% sure (pretty darned close, though).

  7. Jo Ann Donnelly

    Ron – LOL!! That’s what scientist do, right – solve mysteries!! I LOVE your blog & learned of your website when I first started watching the Berry College Eagle cam in Feb, 2014. Someone shared your Age Progression of a Juvie eagle to an adult. I was blown away by your photography. I don’t usually post but have been following your blog for a while & love getting your morning email. It’s very positive start to my day.

  8. To me it looks as if one talon is missing. I’m viewing on my phone though.

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