- You’ll likely notice a change at Feathered Photography for a few days. Beginning this morning my life becomes chaotic and unpredictable (and loud) because of a remodeling project on my home that includes new siding and windows throughout. Poor shooting weather has severely limited my time in the field for the past couple of weeks and now I’ll be mostly stuck at home for the duration of the project (how long that might be depends on weather). So my posts for the duration of the remodel will likely be short and mostly from my archives and there may even be days I don’t post at all. Please bear with me.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this extremely cooperative Rough-legged Hawk about 5 years ago near the marina on Antelope Island. I took 441 images of the bird in 18 minutes as it preened and posed prettily for me but then we had to leave the bird in place because we had a lunch date with our dear friend Justina Bernstein who was the first Director of the Great Salt Lake Nature Center. If it had been anyone else we probably would have stuck with the bird and the lunch date be damned but Justina was and is a special friend so we made the sacrifice… :).
It was a cold morning and I believe the bird was a little lethargic and sleepy at first as it warmed in the sun. Here I caught the hawk in an enthusiastic yawn (I don’t believe it was trying to throw a pellet).
1/2500, f/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, not baited, set up or called in
The bird gave me a variety of preening poses. Here it’s wiping oil from its preen gland onto the feathers of its upper wing and neck. This is one of the few shots I got of this behavior where I could see the eye and had a catch light.
1/800, f/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, not baited, set up or called in
During my time with the hawk I had varying lighting conditions and here the bird is in shade as it spread its tail and lifted some of its other feathers during the grooming process. I think the pose is rather unique and interesting.
1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, not baited, set up or called in
While preening birds often zip the microscopic hooks on their barbules back together by drawing the length of an individual feather through their bill. Here the hawk paused when it reached the end of an outer tail feather and I was able to get several shots similar to this one.
I’ve posted other images of this bird previously but it gave me so many interesting poses I thought some more of them deserved to see the light of day.
Ron
Such a biiiig yawn! These are great photos, Ron! I feel relaxed just looking at them, especially the last shot, and I TOTALLY needed that today.
Good luck on the remodel. You and Mia are brave to do this so close to the holidays. Feel free to use the blog as a venting space if necessary. 😉 I’ll second the motion about covering stuff. Also, just assume that the worst is going to happen; then you can be pleasantly surprised. My parents were of the belief that it was cheaper and easier to mold the house into what they wanted rather than to move, so we went through 4 remodels over the course of 10 years when I was a kid. Both parents were VERY “unique” in their choices of vocabulary. I believe it is what kept them together through all of it — creative cursing and the fact that they were both a little nuts (and no one would buy a house with a big hole in the living room wall). 😀
Funny story, Marty. After today I needed that! And I worked a little on my vocabulary too!
Beautiful pictures. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Thank you, Jean. I wish you and yours the same.
Good luck with the renovations. A foretaste of hell. An expensive foretaste of hell.
Love the preening rough-legged hawk.
And will happily view/review anything you care to give us.
“A foretaste of hell. An expensive foretaste of hell”
You’re right about that, EC. At least the five guys who are working on it today are nice guys and they seem to know what they’re doing. But it’s sure cold in here with many of the windows out – the temp was +14 F when they started but it’s warming up a little now.
I always enjoy seeing your older photos again…and again…ones I ‘ve seen before and ones I may have missed….serendipity…….
Thanks for that, Patty. There may be more of those older ones for a while, though I’ll mostly try to avoid images I’ve posted before.
I love watching birds preen (and bathe, hunt, fly, breathe, whatever). They seem to reach a place of Zen peacefulness in the act, often getting that faraway look in their eyes you captured in the third photo.
Don’t worry about recycling your shots–they’re mostly all new to me and they’re all outrageously beautiful so never mind they’ve been posted before. That kind of beauty never gets old!
I don’t envy you the restoration/remodeling process. When I went through a kitchen remodel, I scheduled surgery on my feet at the same time so that I’d have a sufficient supply of pain killers. That strategy mostly worked–at least until the contractors disappeared for six weeks until they returned to finish the project. I wish you a far less painful experience.
Wish I’d had a camera of any sort a couple of minutes ago. Went outside to find the neighborhood Cooper’s hawk sitting on the cinder-block wall/fence about 10 feet away from me. She didn’t seem to notice me since she was eyeing my roommate’s 10-ish-week-old Shina Inu puppy as a morning snack until the roommate’s 100-pound German shepherd sauntered over to check out what the puppy was doing. IF I’d had my camera, I could have gotten a substandard backlit snapshot of her–she was that close and there that long without noticing me. Alas, no. Sigh! Bear in mind that I carry my point-and-shoot camera in the pocket of my jeans at all times. The problem? I was still in my jammies. DARGH! 🙂
Laura, as you know Cooper’s are arrogant, own the ground they walk on and will challenge MOST others that get in its way. That type of behavior I absolutely love with Coopers, NOT with humans however. You just were not a concern, plus you were in your jimmies!!!!! VBG! However, the German Shepard another story!
Exactly Dick…I was just part of the background, not a threat. The German shepherd, however, is an imposing presence. And while the puppy was underneath a lawn chair munching on a chew toy, the attack was not an easy/simple snatch and kill. When the GSD sauntered over (oblivious of the Cooper’s), the puppy ceased being a viable snack. I love spontaneous wildlife moments!
Your experience with the Coop must have been fun to see, Laura. I wish I saw them more often.
As you know, seeing raptors delights my soul. There are also a bunch of other new birds here like canyon wrens (whose song is so sweet, so crystalline clear that it can break your heart with its sheer beauty) and roadrunners and ravens and others who make my heart sing. Last night, the neighborhood redtail soared in the sky above with the setting sunlight filtering through its tail feathers. That’s hands down my absolute favorite color! There’s a serious magic in birds!
I have two absolute favorite bird calls – Loons and Canyon Wrens. Both go right through me in a very good way. There’s something very special about the descending notes of the Canyon Wren.
Loons and Canyon wrens might have the most beautiful songs out there–there are others in contention for that title, but… I first heard the song of the Canyon wren on “Canyon Trilogy,” a recording of Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai and the clarity of that wren’s song (along with Nakai’s music) blew me away. Now I’m living where they live so I’ll get to hear the wrens more frequently. 🙂
Laura, you have such a way with words. Thank you! 🙂
Beautiful hawk and shots! No roughies out here, as far as I know.
Sorry about the shooting conditions. Hopefully soon there’ll be a break in the clouds.
I hope so, Levi. Actually it’s a beautiful, sunny (but very cold) morning right now but I’m stuck at home with siding and window contractors (I much prefer birds…).
Ron, I love the photos! I think this hawk is far ahead of me and my yoga practice!
I also wish you good luck – and a good set of noise-cancelling headphones – for the renovations! I used them (while piping in nature sounds) when my cat was caterwauling in his “Siamese” mode. That saved my sanity and my cat’s life! 🙂
Alison, I considered cranking up some Dire Straights to drown out some of the noise but that would probably just add to the cacophony. Headphones might be the best answer.
These poses definitely deserve to see the light of day! Very beautiful portraits, and it never occurred to me that the first shot was of anything but a yawn (maybe because I just woke up?). Good luck with your windows and siding. We just got new windows earlier this year, and they have turned out to be a very worthwhile investment. I’ll warn you, though, that it is a very messy process, and I strongly recommend covering anything you don’t want to get dirty. An example, the window right next to the bed cause me to have to re-wash my sheets, which i’d just done the day before… That said, we no longer get great piles of sand on our windowsills when the strong winds come. If you need time off from the blog, take it. I’m sure we’ll all survive it. 🙂
Good advice, Susan – thanks for that!
What a beautiful creature this hawk is, and you captured it exquisitely. I picked up on a note of trepidation—-” the big 70 in a couple of months “—and I’ve gotta say that if one still possesses
most of one’s “marbles” at that point, not only have you built enormous skills at the craft of your choosing , simultaneously you’ve developed the PATIENCE AND PERSPECTIVE to use those skills in
ways that you never could have even 20 years before ! ( P.S.–I hit “it” 4 years ago , and that’s MY sincere personal conviction on the subject ) and the wonderful pieces you display every day in
“Feathered Photography” only reinforce that view……
What a nice thing to say, Kris. Thanks very much. I just hope you’re right… 🙂
Beautiful series, Ron, although I have to admit when I saw the first photo I thought the caption could be ” Feathered Photography on hiatus? Say it isn’t so!!!” 🙂
You will love your new windows!Good luck!
I hope there’s no hiatus, Diane. Time will tell.
I’d die (just a saying, I’m too old to want it to be a reality) for just one of those shots here in the east!!
Absolutely fantastic behavior (preening) images, love em!
We will be waiting in anticipation for all those archive shots we are about to see.
Good Luck on you home projects.
“I’d die (just a saying, I’m too old to want it to be a reality”
Boy, do I ever get that, Dick! The big seven zero is coming up for me in a few months…
Marvelous shots Ron!!
Good luck with your renovations.
Charlotte
I’m going to need it, Charlotte. Thanks.
Wonderful photos! I have never seen one before and now I know what they look like in person! Thank you so much! Best wishes for your renovations and I look forward to seeing more after the holidays!
Thank you, Jerilyn.
Love love love !!!!!! I need to find one!!!!!
Good luck, Marina. I hope you do!
Beautiful shots, Ron! 🙂 You really caught the personality of the hawk in that moment! I don’t envy you the remodel stuff for sure!
Judy, I’m really dreading the noise. And the commotion. I need to be more flexible I guess…
Ron, good fortune with your home issues. I am happy to look at any photos from your archives. I remember the last of this series. Just seeing the hawk make sure every barbule is correct makes me smile Diana
Diana, this was one of the most fastidious birds I’ve ever seen about its grooming – raptor or otherwise.
So beautiful and such exquisite photos! I hope your remodel goes well!
Thanks, Sharon – on both counts.
Spectacular shots Ron, thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Zaphir.