A short post today.
Readers will likely remember the female rufous Red-tailed Hawk I posted quite a few photos of earlier this summer.
1/3200, 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
Well this is her mate, at least I’m pretty sure he is although in the context of the photos I’ve kept I can’t be absolutely certain. I was so enchanted by the rufous color of the spectacular female that she got most of the attention from my lens and I’ve always felt a little guilty for mostly ignoring her mate here on my blog. So this is my day of atonement. Not giving him his due was unwarranted in part because he’s no slouch in the looks department either. I think he looks downright handsome on top of the sagebrush and in this pose.
Typically I don’t post photos of birds where we can’t see the tail and the feet but I much prefer that to having the hawk perched on a utility pole or other ugly perch where we can see both.
In BIH (birds in habitat) photos sometimes the habitat takes a chunk out of the bird and in many cases I can live with it.
Ron
The habitat can add beauty and interest to a photo, as it does in this case. Those Red-tails can display quite a variety of plumages!
He is an absolute beauty. Which, given his mate, doesn’t surprise me. Like to like.
Thanks, EC.
Quite the stunner — I can see why she picked him. Hope both they and their fledglings are doing OK.
I hope so too, Marty. Thanks.
Dapper he is. It looks like he is purposely giving you his most regal pose.
Whatever his motivation I’ll take that pose!
Handsome lad he is! Looks as if he is contemplating something intently. 😍 Interesting background also…nice variety of colors. I agree about the birds on a pole…there are times that I only see them perched on those and I hesitate photographing them…you see one, you see them all. So hidden feet or not, this is much preferable!
Kathy, I took some shots of a red-tail taking off from a pole several days ago. Don’t think they’ll ever see the light of day because of that pole.
His head coloring is striking.
Agreed.
He is a beauty! 🙂 Angle he’s sitting at I had to think about for a minute – it’s early – yes the vertigo is pretty much gone tho as long as allergies are getting me it will be a bit of an issue. 🙁 Many are not that colorful for sure……….;) It is difficult to turn your attention from the VERY exceptional rufus female – glad he gets some “solo” time…….. 🙂
I figured he deserved his moment in the sun. Thanks, Judy.
I’m with you! This is a gorgeous picture of a gorgeous bird. I love the habitat around him!
Thanks very much, Joanne.
Ron – too funny – I read the post very early this am before I had my coffee and just thought to myself that I might have misread the post. Logged back on and sure enough you have already corrected me. As I was starting to sip my coffee I was thinking that I might have noted the wrong sex there. 🙂
Don’t give it a second thought, Everett. I wouldn’t have mentioned it except I thought I should clear up any confusion.
She is a beautiful raptor and well deserving of some attention. That is a lot of habitat, but as you say, much better than sitting on a utility pole. Thanks for posting Ron.
Thanks, Everett. Actually this is the male.
Beautiful shot, handsome Red-tail!
You do have some beauties in the West!!
Thank you, Dick. Believe me, we have some that aren’t so photogenic…