At first I thought this hawk might have an atypical bicolored bill.
In our high desert environment the backgrounds in my photos are often devoid of green or bright colors but this year our wet and cool spring has changed all that, for now at least.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this Red-tailed Hawk four days ago at the base of a mountain range in northern Utah. I like the setting that includes a rocky, lichen-covered perch, green grass and flowers behind the hawk.
The bird had its back to me for the entire time it was perched but suddenly it turned on the rock and raised its wings to take off. I got quite a few flight shots after it launched but it unexpectedly flew straight toward me and I didn’t get a catch light in the eye in any of them. In this shot the hawk isn’t quite tack sharp but I like the pose and the setting well enough to post it anyway.
At first glance the hawk appeared to have a bi-colored bill with the upper mandible being the normal near-black and the lower mandible white. In all of my photos taken while the bird was perched the mandible looks white on both the left and right side.
But in a highly-cropped photo that shows us better detail of the left side of the face I’ve decided that the white color is probably caused by a small white down feather stuck to its bill. Most likely the feather became stuck to the bill while the hawk was preening.
Initially I was led astray in part because the bill appeared to be white on both sides. Don’t make assumptions, Ron…
Ron
Ron, very late to the party with your early risings, but I’ll post my complements on the photos of this beautiful hawk and the background.
Just curious, have you spotted any hummingbirds? We’ve seen one or so for the past 4 days or so. It is hard to tell if it is one or several birds. Just love seeing them.
Thank you, Ron for your unending persistence to provide your readers with such great photos, stories and a bit of education. It is wonderful to get up every day and look for your blog……………
Wow, that is really pretty, both the bird and the background.
I’m glad you liked it, Jane.
Ron,
It is such a cool bird. The colors add a lot. But rustic and mountainous is an okay background for a hawk as well, IMHO.
Stephen
Agreed, Stephen – lots of backgrounds are “ok”. But I get flowers in my bird photos so seldom it’s a treat for me when I do. Thanks.
Sensational shots Ron!
charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Wonderful shots — feather lagniappe or not. 🙂
Happy Birthday! 😀
“lagniappe” – another one I had to look up!
These days I ignore my birthdays as best I can… 🙂
Wonderful pictures.
Thanks, Jean.
I envy that hawk its green backdrop (and you your rain).
I am glad you were able to clarify the white beak issue. And love the photos.
We’ve had more than our share of the wet stuff this year, EC.
All my birds are molting their fluffy down undercoats for spring. Seems like there are drifts of little white feathers everywhere. Cold this morning, but coming warmth is finally inevitable. Thank you for all you do!
It’s that time of year, isn’t it. Thanks, Mikal.
Beautiful shots. I am tired of the rain but it sure has made our desert bloom and my grass grow. There are pros and cons to everything I guess.
I’m growing weary of rain too, Betty. But it sure has its upside, doesn’t it.
It is nice to see the Hawk amongst the fresh green foliage, ephemeral though it may be. The 2nd photo has that intriguing 3D look. Going back through some of your earlier photos it seems you could do a photographic essay on the color variations of the Red-tailed Hawk. From subtle to extreme. Ain’t genetics grand.
Lyle, when it comes to plumage variation I believe that red-tails are the most diverse of all of our buteos. Their range of plumage colors is amazing.
Love that first photo of the Red-tail in that setting. If I took that it might be framed here in my office. Beautiful !!! I have seen that same feather show up in many hawk and eagle photos I have taken. They all spend significant time preening so there are bound to be feathers sticking somewhere. A great time of the year when we start to see drab winter backgrounds suddenly changing as bright new spring foliage emerges.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Everett – I agree that birds get feathers stuck in their bills often when preening. This time I was fooled at first though because it showed up bilaterally.
I know this has not been asked, but I must. You spend so much time with the birds, they surly have accepted you. So they spend extra time so that you can get these great pictures. There can be no other explanation.
Well, you’re half right, Steven. I do spend a lot of time with birds but it’s unusual for them to “accept” me. I had more evidence of that this morning when the first three birds I tried to photograph flew off just before I locked focus on them.
Really like both photos. That little bit of feather soften the face nicely in the second photo. I must admit I was surprised to see the bright green and yellow…I’ve become accustomed to the softness of the sages and the muted background of your lake and mountains in you photos!
Kathy, I don’t get flowers in my photos very often so when I do it’s often a real treat for me.
Nice! I agree it’s a bit of down feather… Still a beautiful hawk… 🙂
Thank you, Judy.