This was the most cooperative Rough-legged Hawk in flight I’ve ever photographed.
It was kiting in the wind as it hunted voles along the Antelope Island causeway and it virtually ignored the traffic and people along the road. I spent an unbelievable 29 minutes with it as it hunted, often almost motionless in the air for long periods of time, and dove on prey. I saw it catch and eat several voles in that time.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Usually when it caught a vole it consumed it on the spot on the ground and mostly hidden from view but twice it lifted off with a rodent in its talons and resumed kiting the causeway. One of those two voles was a baby (pinkie) and that one was consumed in midair but this adult vole was carried for some time as the hawk kited. Maybe the bird was no longer hungry but instinctively continued to hunt?
Some might prefer that this image was rotated to level the hawk in flight but I believe that this was its actual angle of attack in the air when the photo was taken so I resisted the “rotation temptation”.
1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Several times I saw the hawk lift its head and apparently look over the raised road to the south side of the causeway. I love the pose when it did so because of the raised head and the resulting “S-curve” of its body. This posture never lasted very long and I always seemed to be doing something else when it happened but one time I was able to fire off a burst and got several nice shots of the behavior.
These images were taken in 2011 and that was a good winter for Rough-legged Hawks on the island but the last few years have been a different story. Most of these hawks have now headed north for the breeding season so I don’t expect to photograph any more of them until next fall.
Thankfully the Swainson’s Hawks are on their way north to take their place.
Ron
Really enjoyed that shot with the vole. Had to look closer to make sure I was seeing things right. D:
Beautiful!
Spectacular shots Ron!
Charlotte
Best Roughie pics I’ve ever seen. That S shaped photo…totally incredible Ron. You’ve got it like few others do…
That’s high praise, Zaph. Thank you very much.
Oh.
Inarticulate wonder and joy.
How I love these images. Thank you.
And, of topic, you and Laura are owed another big thank you. I have just finished Terry Tempest William’s Refuge. And am still mulling over some of the concepts while revelling in her prose.
Jeeez! Another one? Am waiting for “Desert Solitaire”
Ah yes, “Desert Solitaire.” I’ve bought another copy to read it again, just because I enjoyed it so much, the bulk of my books are in storage in Texas and it’s been 20+ years since I read it the last time–could be 30. I’m an Official Geezer as of midnight, so it’ll all be new to me again! I’m reading Nancy Cowan’s new book, “Peregrine Spring” right now and enjoying it immensely. It’s a falconer’s memoir. Mine isn’t done yet (my own darn fault) and thus far, it’s fun and glorious.
I’m delighted that you liked the book, EC. Terry is a highly skilled writer and a wonderful person.
Here’s the latest “project” of Terry and her husband Brooke. Doing what they did was very tense for them because Tim De Christopher went to prison for two years for doing something similar. But they bit the bullet and did it anyway.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/opinion/keeping-my-fossil-fuel-in-the-ground.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0
Thank you. And Terry and Brooke. We need to clone people like them. We really need to.
What an amazing link to an amazing couple…a wonderful, wonderful story!!! i am so grateful that people llke them exist! I have thought of doing something similar but had neither the money nor the opportunity…I am so thankful that they did and took advantage of it. I’ve often thought what I could do if I had just some of the money trump, the Koch brothers and others like them have…or if I won the lotto. I just wouldn’tknow where to start….
Love the first shot, especially the bird’s intense focus and angle of flight…almost missed the vole in the “trunk”…since the bird is obviously still hunting, I find wonder how it handled its first catch, “the vole in hand”, if it caught another…the second shot is so graceful and beautiful…love the head and wing positions…..
“wonder how it handled its first catch, “the vole in hand”, if it caught another”
I wondered the same thing, Patty – perhaps it would have used one foot to hold the first vole and the other foot to grab the second. If so, that would have been SOMETHING to photograph!
That CAN happen BTW! Jack the HAHA caught one in each foot, then tried to fly back to the fist with them. Uh oh! There’s a problem! Hack doesn’t often have to deal with human problems, but it was one instance where he wished he had another foot or two, like me with this two-hands thing. 😀 What an inadequate design!
Just outstanding pictures, I mentioned prior that what you do is like fishing, a waiting game, these pictures prove the wait is just part of what you share with all of us.
Absolutely, Steven – there’s a lot of waiting in bird photography. Patience is a prerequisite.
One difference is that with fishing (bait fishing at least) you can mostly relax in-between strikes but with bird photography you have to pay strict attention every second because when something happens it typically happens very, very fast…
You get up early, before the birds– drive quite a distance, wait and wait and wait, freeze your butt off, dream about hot coffee and chocolate donuts, bemoan missed shots, drive back home —and crash??? ( Do you ever doubt your sanity?)
“drive back home —and crash??? ( Do you ever doubt your sanity?)”
An afternoon nap is a given with me these days, Patty. And my sanity or lack thereof is always a matter of question…
Insert ridiculously redundant and repetitive OH WOW here! Lovely shots, capturing behavior and I’m a fool for your behavior shots with background stories!
I just love the second shot, but the hawk is just showing off there! The fluidity of motion is amazing. Same with eating on the wing. I love it when they do that. Sigh…why can’t I fly, too? No matter what I do, I’ll NEVER be that cool–not ever!
Sorry you’re in a snow storm, but don’t forget that the overall trend is toward July. 😀
“The fluidity of motion is amazing”
So very true, Laura. I remember being so transfixed by the subtle physical reactions of this hawk to the wind as I watched it through my lens that I was in danger of forgetting to push my shutter button. Really!
Ron, that’s my problem…well, in addition to the reality that I don’t know an f-stop from a hole in the ground and I can’t hold a camera anyway–sigh. Anyway, I’m far too busy just watching in AWE that even the idea of a camera is so far beyond me. Heck, remembering to breathe is a problem. Then, there’s the scraping my jaw off the ground. There’s such brutally wondrous majesty there. Granted, sometimes that majesty thing just doesn’t work, but it’s all just so MAGIC!
Assuming the folks who believe in reincarnation are right, and they might be (who knows?), if I don’t come back into this world as a raptor, I’m not going to be a happy camper!
Magnificent! 🙂 Particularly the 2nd photo! 🙂 We catch the edge of your storm here today and tonight – could use more of it as it’s very dry. Perhaps it was looking for “2fors” in the 1st photo.
“Perhaps it was looking for “2fors” in the 1st photo”
I liked that, Judy. Could be true, too…
Ron, these are gorgeous images. I’m glad you resisted rotating the first photo because, for me, the angle portrays a behavior I don’t see much of in others’ photos. It certainly appears the hawk is homing in on other prey. And the eye of the vole as it’s tucked up under the tail and in the grip of the talons caught my attention immediately after noticing the hawk and is a really great capture. The second photo is unique, also, in that this bird of prey looks so harmless and peaceful. Almost dove-like. Really nice.
Dave, as you likely know it’s often very difficult or impossible to know the accurate flight angle of a bird in flight when there are no clues (like a horizon) in the background. I try to keep my camera level when photographing but in the excitement of the moment it sometimes doesn’t happen. But a few other shots of this bird at that time show a similar angle so I didn’t rotate.
I’m delighted that you like the images so much. Thank you.
Wow Ron, what terrific captures and although I like both the second is my favorite!! That head turn is another one of those behavior captures that’s unusual and I can see why you like it. With as majestic as these hawks are, I can understand why you miss seeing them at this time in their migration. Hope you have good shooting conditions today when you head out!!
“Hope you have good shooting conditions today when you head out”
Not a chance, Jo Ann. We’re in the middle of a slow-moving 3 day winter storm so I won’t be shooting for a while. My spring fever’s shot to hell!