Fourteen photos of this spectacularly beautiful hawk perched, taking off and in flight. But yesterday Mr. Murphy showed up.
I’ve encountered this unusually colored Red-tailed Hawk in past years but poor light and bad luck prevented me from getting the flight shots I wanted so badly. Almost certainly it’s the same female who has nested in this area in previous years. Her overall very dark red (rufous) colors are beautiful and distinctive so I’ve ached, literally ached, to get better shots of her.
Yesterday I had my chance. At first she was perched on some lovely lichen-covered rocks with her back to me and I fully expected her to take off away from me, which she did.
But she unexpectedly flew only a short distance to my left and landed on another rock and this time she was facing me.
If she took off from here while I was there I’d have my chance.
Eventually she did but the instant she took to the air Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s law arrived on the scene and put the kibosh on my hopes of getting the high-quality flight shots I was after. As you’re about to see my string of bad luck was an impressively long one.
The following five shots are sequential photos in the burst without any skips and there are very few skips in the four shots following those five. All photos are presented in the order they were taken.
The entire rest of the series was a train wreck, beginning with this clipped wing. This one really hurt.
Nothing clipped here but I had to add canvas on the left for composition which I really dislike doing.
Another clipped wing.
And another.
Nothing clipped but once again I had to add canvas.
Finally, I didn’t clip any body parts and I had enough room to get a composition that worked but wouldn’t you know it, her nictitating membrane was closed!
A single flight feather, clipped at the tip.
Here her left wing is more than just clipped, it’s cut off.
Not enough room to the left to get a decent composition and the rocks and vegetation at bottom prevent me from adding canvas.
Another clipped wing.
Not nearly enough room below the hawk.
Needless to say Mr. Murphy isn’t one of my dearest friends but whenever I have a lens in my hands he regularly makes an appearance. Since this beautiful hawk is apparently nesting in the area (I didn’t see her mate yesterday but her old nest is nearby) I can only hope for another chance with her.
Ron
- Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”. The presumption is that Murphy was a man but I suppose a case could be made that it should be “Mrs. Murphy”…
- Every bird photographer is familiar with at least some of the frustrations I had yesterday. I just like to bitch and moan about mine.
Beautiful shots, what a gorgeous bird! I know the frustration, today almost made me cry over my inabilities.
My e-mail has been bouncing most of my e-mails as junk for a good part of the week. I don’t know why, so I am catching up on everything I missed this week.
Wonderful images, but you are so hard on yourself about those clipped wings and edits. Since following your blogs I must blame you for suddenly realizing all my inadequacies as I go back over my old photos!
I get the same feeling of inadequacy when I review my earliest photos, Ken. It comes with the territory when we learn stuff… 🙂
Ron, what beautiful shots of a beautiful bird. The colors are spectacular. Thanks for posting.
Thank you, Alice.
These, many of them, are fantastic Ron. I think you should be proud of them. Specifically, I’d debate whether it is acceptable to add a pretty much blank blue sky “canvas” addition to the bird-nose side of the shot to improve the composition. The addition is literally not discernable and the addition looks just like the blank blue sky that was really there. I know, I know, it will bother you intellectually. This engineer appreciates your perfectionism. I enjoy your quality standards 99% of the time but this seems just a wee bit much 😉
You can beat yourself up over it but we sure enjoy even the canvas added shots…
Thank you, Art. I appreciate your perspective.
But where do you draw the line? It’s a Pandora’s Box I’m very hesitant to open. It’s an extremely slippery slope…
Regardless of Mr. Murphy, she is still very beautiful, and your pictures capture her beauty!
Thank you, Carolyn.
“Oh God, please help me to be ⅛ as successful as Ron.” I would be delighted with just one of those shots you didn’t like!!!!
What gorgeous Red-tail. I have never seen one so dark, and if you didn’t see its tail or if it was an immature I would have never guessed it was a Red-tail. The belly band is so non-discript, this is a tough one to ID.
I know you are critical, but I love the majority of your shots!!
Many thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Dick. It’s not that I don’t like them, I actually do. But I can’t help comparing them to what might have been.
I said, “Oh shit!” out loud when I got to the 4th shot. I can only imagine the “blue cloud” in your computer room… Of course, for us mere mortals, these are all amazing shots of a spectacular bird.😋 She really is gorgeous! I wonder what happened to her tail feather, though (the damage is evident in that infamous 4th shot).
Sometimes it feels like Mr. Murphy must be my “guardian angel.”😈😇
Yup, it was indeed a blue room while I was reviewing the photos, Marty.
I wondered about that middle tail feather too. It’s almost like she preened her tail feathers from both outsides in but forgot to do the middle one.
Regardless of Mr. Murphy, your pictures are wonderful. Beautiful bird indeed!
Thank you, Jean.
Ron, your high standards bummed you out but we, your followers just LOVE seeing so many photos of this spectacular female RTH!! OMG she is “Gorgeous”!! I think I told you my youngest sister’s son is working with a Falconer who has a Red-tailed Hawk so I will be sharing your blog with them today!! He’s a marvelous young man who is working towards being a Eagle scout, he’s a wonderful swimmer & has taken up photography & is doing well. As you can tell I’m very proud of him & I love sharing your blog with him so sees what he has to aim for & getting the ethics required for a photographer who captures wildlife!!
Jo Ann, sounds like you think a lot of your nephew who, from what you said, might be an apprentice falconer. Falconry is very demanding but tremendously rewarding for those who get into it. I wish him well.
Very funny post! And kind of reassuring for us newer bird photographers. Love the photos dispite Murphy! Especially like some of the added canvas ones.
Thanks, Joanne. Bird photography ain’t easy, even for us old timers!
What an awesome flight series,in spite of Murph!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Hi Ron, What lens were you using for these ??
Sorry, Gary. I didn’t have time to include my image techs this morning. It was my Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender.
Gorgeous photos, Ron! The bird is beautiful and the parts that you did capture look wonderful. But I’m also feeling/thinking… oh man… these photos would be so, so brilliant if the whole bird was visible! And the photo with the nictating membrane made me laugh! Mr. Murphy has a nasty little sense of humour. Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos and I hope you get other opportunities this year to photograph this hawk. 🙂
Nancy, that nictitating membrane photo makes me chuckle now but I sure as hell wasn’t laughing yesterday…
Oh, Ron. Perfectionists make wonderful photographers, but they also make their own misery! There are a lot of really nice shots here. What a beautiful bird!
You make a valid point about photographers and misery, Nancy…
Hi Ron, I really like the shots of this particular Red-tailed Hawk. What caught my eye was how the shots showing her talons made them look like stainless steel. Clip or no clip, they are great.
Thanks very much, Mel.
A beautiful bird and some beautiful shots even though Murphy was present. The two where you had to add canvas are really nice. For an amateur like me they would all have been just fine, but of course for you many are a disappointment. Thank you for sharing these. Just to see a beautiful bird like this in flight makes my otherwise dismal morning as I watch the rain continue to pour down.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Everett, I should be satisfied with just seeing her and having the chance at some excellent flight shots. Hopefully next time Murphy will stay home.
Theses are all great lessons in composition: what and what not to do. Still, this is one stunningly beautiful hawk. You found it, photographed it and shared it with us. Murphy dropped in but certainly didn’t ruin the party.
“Murphy dropped in but certainly didn’t ruin the party”
Thanks, Lyle – that makes me feel a little better. But next time I hope ol’ Murph goes to someone else’s party.
That fourth shot made me groan out loud. It is PERFECTION except….well, you know. But I am feeling your pain!
Arwen, I did a LOT of groaning while I was reviewing these images!
LOL, I can only imagine!
VERY familiar with “Murphy”!……… 🙁 It is a stunning VERY red hawk 🙂 Had one like that when the other drama was going on here tho perhaps a bit lighter. I’d never seen one THAT red… 🙂 Hope you’re correct on her hanging around and you can eventually get the flight shots without clipping.. 😉 More snow for us but not really cold……
I don’t remember ever seeing one this red either, Judy. I think she’s a spectacular bird.
Snowing right now around here…
Ron been there before, and that feeling never gets better, as any other wildlife photographer will tell you. At least you have nice portaits of her though!
Also, what I sometimes do if a small amount of the wing is clipped, is to crop it so it looks intentional. Don’t know if it’d be possible with these though. Anyway, I look forward to reading and seeing your future attempts!
I think it would be possible with some of them, Xavier. I was close enough for the image quality to hold up reasonably well with more extreme crops. But it’s something I rarely do.
Oh my! What an absolutely beautiful bird!!! Those first two photos are to die for. Her colors are spectacular; that tail is beyond words. I can see why you have an issue with Mr. Murphy but hopefully she will be in the area and you will get many more opportunities with her!
Actually all the photos are to die for but I know exactly how you feel. Thank you for sharing all of these! You are kind to share all of them, even what you are disappointed with. We learn so much from you!
Kathy, I think she’s one of the most distinctive and beautiful raptors I’ve ever encountered.