Plus an impressive reptilian encounter in the same area.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning I once again paid a visit to the female rufous Red-tailed Hawk and I consider this photo to be a small victory for me. For years I’ve struggled getting hawks sharp when they’re in flight with a background that’s very close behind them. In that situation autofocus tends to grab the background instead of the bird so the bird ends up being soft.
But yesterday I did better than usual on this shot. The bird’s face isn’t quite tack sharp but it’s close. Personally I don’t think these cliffs make a very good background aesthetically but for me the significance of the shot is that it demonstrates progress in my quest to improve my skills. At times in the past I’ve wondered if those skills were degenerating…
I had a bit of a tension-filled experience with this hawk yesterday but that story hasn’t fully played out yet so I’ll have to wait until later to tell it but suffice it to say that while I was in the field with this bird I spent some time on the phone with good friend and blog follower April Olson. She happened to tell me that she’d recently seen this same hawk in the same area with a snake as prey (with her rufous color she’s very easy to distinguish from other red-tails).
Well, guess what I found just down the road after I left the hawk?
A beautiful and quite large Great Basin Gopher Snake sunning itself on the road. I estimated its length to be over 5′ and since 5.75′ is about as large as they get I consider it to be a big snake. It had shiny scales and clear eyes so I believe it had fairly recently shed its skin.
When I first drove up on the snake I feared it had already been flat-ironed by vehicles. I’m tired of seeing road kill on this road so after I passed it and wondered if it was still alive I turned around and came back to check it out. It was still very much alive and hadn’t yet been run over so I shooed it off the road and it disappeared into the grass.
I love gopher snakes and in the past it’s been my habit to pick them up and handle them briefly before releasing them. But they can be quite aggressive when handled and eventually I figured out that I was unnecessarily stressing them when I handled them for no particular reason other than my own satisfaction so I don’t do it anymore.
I was disappointed to see that the snake had a small injury on its side perhaps 6-8″ behind its head. The skin was apparently damaged and a group of scales were missing. Perhaps the injury occurred in a struggle with prey. Small mammals are their most common prey item and some of them can put up quite a struggle.
But the snake seemed healthy and active despite its injury and I was happy to see it disappear into the grass.
Raptor food, ya know… 🙂
Ron
GORGEOUS Gopher Snake, Ron. I wonder if that injury was WITH prey or AS prey — that’s a pretty big slice. Thank you for saving it from careless drivers.
The RTH looks awfully sharp to me — so much so that her left wing almost looks shopped against the rocks. Sure hope she’s not out there fending on her own…
I imagine it was with prey, Marty. Even small rodents have wicked and very effective incisors. I know that from multiple personal experiences…
That is a good shot of the Hawk flying. Well done. I too love Gopher Snakes. They are very pretty. We saved a couple of them in our yard. Our Cats were having a wonderful time harassing them lol. We made sure they were healthy, then took them out by a creek. Plenty of vegetation, and water when they needed it.
Jean, many years ago when I had Gopher Snake as a teaching tool in my classroom I would take it home for the summer. One day I came home to find half of a snake on top of my fireplace mantle. Our cat was responsible for the other half. I always felt horrible about that, still do.
I wish I could be more helpful with the call. If something has happened to the male the female will be harder pressed to find food for the fledglings. She may be traveling more frequently to find food, and spending less time at the nest. I hope you see the male soon also. And yes I wish locals had more respect for the redtails and all wildlife.
April, I know a few of the locals who do care but as far as I can tell many of them don’t give a whit…
Wow. That is a most excellent shot of that beautiful bird – and my eyes can’t see any of the miniscule softness which your picky self can.
Road kill is very, very common here and some trips we see much more dead wildlife than any which is alive. Which makes my heart ache. Thank you for ensuring the snake lives to slither another day.
You’ve mentioned in the past that you have a lot of road kill in Oz, EC. I wonder why that is…
It is a combination of things I think. Drought has made conditions very, very hard for a number of years and the animals are constantly on the search for food and water = which includes coming close to human habitation. And careless driving. Lots and lots of careless driving. On one particularly dreadful drive (only half an hour or so) I counted more than fifty dead kangaroos/wombats before I stopped counting in despair and disgust.
Wow, that’s incredible, EC. You’d think something could be done about it but I have no idea what it would be.
Kudos for getting the RRTH shot so clearly. And thanks for getting the GS off the road. Beautiful pictures of both.
Thanks, Lyle. I’m glad that snake will live another day. I don’t think it would have if I hadn’t encouraged it off the road. And that snake was a real beauty!
Fantastic shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Gopher snakes seem to be a common prey for Red Tails. Over the years I’ve seen a number of them in the clutches of Red Tails in my area.
This spring, here in the foothills of California, has been a particularly troubling year for snakes becoming road pizza. All through the spring and along just the one road that I travel frequently to and from home I’d see a flattened snake every few hundred yards. Most appeared to be Gopher Snakes and Kingsnakes but knowing that area I suspect more than a few were Pacific Rattlesnakes. We found one of those crossing the sidewalk outside the restaurant where we had gathered one evening.
I also have a habit of shooing them off the roads when it is safe. A most interesting encounter of that sort happened to a friend and I out during spring break on a herpetology collecting trip in the Mojave Desert in Southern California many years ago. Late one night, on a remote two lane asphalt road we came across several dozen sidewinders crossing the road all headed in the same direction. We got as many of them off the road as we could but there still seemed to be more coming so eventually we moved on. It is not unusual for rattlesnakes to collect in large numbers–particularly in their favorite subterranean lairs–some guessing they benefit from the collective warmth of the “swarm”. I’ve encountered other snakes in large aggregations as well and I recall you posting about the garter snakes in your tree stump. But that sidewinder encounter was one of a kind in my experience.
Great pics of both the hawk and the snake.
Wow, I’d remember that sidewinder experience too, and for a good long time. Thanks for the interesting story, James.
I adore snakes so it makes me happy to know others stop to get them off the road when possible. I once leapt out of vehicle to scold a small boy poking a snake with a stick. Only to find out that he was trying to leverage the snake off the hot road. Good kid. I helped him and told him I thought he was a very good person for helping. Then warned him to look at the shape of the head first. No need to get bit by a viper!
Good for that kid, Arwen. And for you.
Beautiful shot of the hawk, Ron! 🙂 It all works VERY well…. 🙂 Gopher snake shot is interesting – certainly does appear to have shed recently and the wound indicates “something” got hold of it. Would be great to know if the hawk “had it” and had to drop it. Eagles and hawks regularly take snakes here even a “buzz tail” occasionally – REALLY dangerous pursuit! 🙁 As a kid I played with snakes but there were no “buzz tails” around. They would regularly escape including a good sized bull snake in the house – my mother didn’t appreciate that….. 😉 Joe a bit squeamish when I grab one now and then to get it out of trouble(bird netting) or the yard/bush where they are hunting eggs/small birds……. I have my limits!
Thanks, Judy. I don’t believe any of my family has ever seen a rattler on the farm but I know they’re fairly commonly found in some nearby areas.
We have them on the farm regularly so am more cautious now – this was in Great Falls or out with my folks somewhere. Never saw one until coming out here!
Thanks for the Kestrel with the snake photos Ron. Very interesting to see. I have photographed them with lizards, but have never seen one with a snake.
You’re very welcome, Everett.
G-Morning Ron,
Great Red Tailed Hawk photo, and personally I do like the clear focused background of your photo rather than out of focus others that I’ve seen that I find a distraction of the primary subject.
Great photo of the the Great Basin Gopher Snake photo! I’d assume it’s skin was incisor bitten by a rodent captured as this snake species is a constrictor that catch captures, and compression coil constricts to cause suffocation death before consuming. A bite hazard constrictors often experience as opposed to Vipers. Should you and your other followers be interested in my research of “Shed Snake Skins” that was U.S. Patented in 1979; it can be viewed (long expired) at http://WWW.USPTO.GOV search Patent 4,147,826.
DON
Thanks, Donald. I’m not seeing your patent at that link – only a womewhat generic page of the patent office.
Hi Ron, Gee Wiz the “experts” claim they simplified the Patent Search process—not! At http://WWW.USPTO.GOV click on “Patent Basics”, then scroll down to step 2 and further down to the bottom and click onto “Patent Search Page”. Look down to “Searching Full Text Patents (since 1976)” and click onto “Quick Search”. At Term 1 enter 4,147,826 then click “search” for my Patent regarding Shed Snake Skins. At Term 1 you can also enter my name as Kaleta, Donald J for direct links to all 3 of my issued U.S.Patents. Sorry the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) continues to make searching the Patent Database so complicated for us that are not Attorneys.It would have been so much simpler to for-go these steps and put Search Patents and / or Trademarks on their Home page at the initial USPTO site. An example of wasted time and expense as law degrees are a requirement to work as Examiners for the USPTO, and WHY it’s necessary to hire a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney, my opinion, to submit and argue rejections of a Patent application. Don
I admired the close-up of the snake– guess I hadn’t ever seen one which had recently completed a “shed”–what shiny scales and eyes ! Beautiful…….
Kris, lots of folks just can’t see snakes as “beautiful” but I sure can.
Beautiful image of the Red-tail, love the shot.
However, this was an interesting post because it brought back the memory as a kid, putting a Garter Snake in my pocket and bringing it to school. We’re talking 8th grade. No, I don’t do that anymore. Even though I got detention because the snake got loose and no one could find it, I remember the day as a fun day. I was still allowed to play football after school. That wasn’t the only fun that day – before school my mother had told me to release the snake I was playing with and didn’t realize when I came in to breakfast that I had put it in my pocket. It was a playful snake peeking out of my pocket or when I put it in the desk (an old desk with cutouts for an ink can) it tried to peek out the opening for the ink well. Suffice it to say I was disciplined when I got home!! Memories, Memories!
You rascal you! Loved the story, Dick.
That is a tough background shot Ron, but you did well. No degenerating skills yet. That Rufous Red-tail is a beautiful bird and even more so in flight. Beautiful gopher snake too and yes, they can be very aggressive. We had one in the back yard a few years back and it took my wife and I quite a while to get it into a small trash can with a lid. When I took it out into the fields to let it lose I had my camera with me and wanted to get a shot of it when I let it out. I removed the lid, kicked over the can, and was ready to shoot. That guy shot out of there and into some shrubs before I could even react with the camera. And yes they are raptor for sure. I did see one of our eagles a couple years back flying along with one dangling from its beak.
Thanks, Everett. In my experience red-tails prey on snakes quite often. I’ve even photographed kestrels with snakes.
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2015/08/02/american-kestrels-as-reptile-hunters/
There’s a bulge in the belly, I think. Beautiful snake. Aren’t most of the big ones females?
I’m not sure, Pam but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Congratulations on getting focus in this tough condition. The background really jumps out and grabs you and I guess that’s why autofocus locks onto it. I think you should stop wondering if any skills are slipping, it appears you’re pretty darn safe there. That’s quite a healthy looking gopher snake you found out there, glad you were able to usher it towards safer places.
Thanks, Dave. The first bite I ever got from a gopher snake surprised the hell out of me – that’s a story my ex-wife (and still good friend) Diane Olson loves to tell to this day. In fact I heard her tell it just recently.