Staying balanced on a small perch can be a challenge, even for a bird known for its agility like the Northern Harrier (male harriers like this bird are often referred to as “Gray Ghosts”.)
- Caveat: These are documentary quality images only. The hawk was far away so the photos have been significantly cropped (most to only 37.5% of the original image) and I was shooting at a high ISO so noticeable grain can be seen, especially in the backgrounds.
Yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA this male Northern Harrier was perched far enough away from the road that initially the only reason I pointed my lens his way was to confirm what species he was. With my naked eye and mediocre eyesight I first thought he might be a Prairie Falcon because his belly and chest were so white. He wasn’t.
He seemed quite comfortable and relaxed on the rusting old metal fencepost but that suddenly changed when…
his right foot slipped down the side of the post. That misstep triggered a long-lasting but futile attempt to fully regain his balance.
He appeared to recover his balance for a second or two but in his vulnerable moment he made the mistake of looking at me instead of focusing on his immediate problem so…
once again his right foot slipped off the narrow perch. This time…
recovery wasn’t so easy.
With one leg held down (and sometimes a little further out) for balance he now had to use his wings more extensively to stay upright on the post. But eventually he overcompensated and…
nearly fell off the other side of the post.
At this point I thought he might be about to throw in the towel and take off from the perch but he…
was stubborn. Apparently after actively hunting on the wing all morning he needed the rest and preferred to stay perched. Either that or he was actively hunting from the post and wanted to continue to do so.
But very soon his right foot slipped once again so he must have thought to hell with it and in the very next shot in the burst he…
gave up and took off.
His attempt to stay on the perch lasted for much longer than readers might think. I’ve only presented 11 photos here but I took 64 shots of his struggle from beginning to end and I paused my bursts several times to keep my buffer from filling up so it lasted for a quite a while.
I’m not sure why he had so much trouble. Obviously the top of the perch was relatively small but I’m still a little surprised he had such a time of it. There was only a slight breeze that morning but it’s still possible it was a contributing factor.
Whatever the cause I thought his struggle was an interesting one, despite the far-away bird and noticeably noisy images.
Ron
Notes:
- I ran out of time to include complete image techs but here’s a summary – 1/2500-1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender
- Bird numbers and early spring behaviors have finally begun to pick up around here and the weather is improving too. Both have been a very long time coming so I’m more than a little encouraged!
Looks like he was doing the Mashed Potatoes (for those of you who are old enough to remember. Great shots of the bird!
Oh, I’m old enough. I’m definitely old enough, Jean.
Funny series…wonder why so many birds, like Kestrels especially, choose the tiny ends of things as perches…because they are highest thing around? BEAUTIFUL bird…
Thanks, Patty. I’d say it’s because high pointy perches tend to give them an unobstructed view in the most directions (to look for potential prey and to watch for potential incoming predators).
Now this is a documentary I could watch again and again.
Watch and marvel. As well as some quite phenomenal recovery moves he showed incredible persistence too.
Huge thanks.
I’m glad you liked it, EC. I think we both enjoy the little things in the lives of birds.
Of course I liked it. The little things are often HUGE in my world. My family said ‘small things for small minds’. My very adult self sticks her tongue out at them.
👍😊👏
We share a love for Harriers, so your splendid series of photographs sure made my morning coffee better!
His actions reminded me of yesterday. I tried to stand on a small stump to get a picture but kept slipping off. My flailing arms made poor wings and waving around that big lens didn’t help that balance thing.
I hope your lens survived! I have nightmares about such things.
I’ve had a couple of very close calls with my lens which is something I couldn’t really afford to replace.
You can just hear him on the last picture “Awwww EFF this!”
I swear I heard him say exactly that, Arwen!
A great series of a stubborn guy❗️Guess he had his reasons for not wanting to give up on this pole❗️
I’m feeling a little guilty for enjoying the mild California days we’ve been having but it has bringing out the birds😁
Don’t feel guilty, Diana – enjoy it while it lasts!
Great series Ron. That looks like a steel “Tee” stake, a tough profile for a perch with those lethal talons, just not a lot of place to grab onto. Tenacious, those Harriers!
Thanks, Dave. You’re right about the post (stake).
Sometimes that majestic thing just doesn’t work 😉 But that said, I still maintain that it’s good to have wings when you’ve only got two legs! LOL!! And, as usual, a glorious series, all your nits noted (and dismissed)!
“But that said, I still maintain that it’s good to have wings when you’ve only got two legs!”
Laura, well I only have two legs so if you can arrange it I’m ready for my wings. I know EC would appreciate the same thing…
YES. She would. Muchly.
Even at that distance you managed to get an eye catch in some of the photos. I saw some (female only) Harriers the other day and even with my scope at 60X I couldn’t see the degree of detail you show. They always seem waaay out there. Are you sure that’s not blood on the pole? Almost seems there might be some red on the right foot. By the way, I think you’re mistaken about the balance thing. He’s actually practicing the Crane kick that Mr. Miyagi taught him.
“even with my scope at 60X I couldn’t see the degree of detail you show”
* Thanks for noticing, Lyle. The detail often found in my images is the result of very high quality glass. Very expensive but worth it, at least for me.
* Pretty sure it’s not blood on the pole. Not seeing blood on the feet either. I looked at several of these images at full resolution (100%) just to be sure.
* You could be right about Mr. Miyagi – his influence was felt far and wide… 🙂
Fun! “grey ghosts” are special no matter what….. 🙂 He definitely was doing a dance! I noted the top of the post is “red” – may be rust or could be be some damp blood that was slippery? Glad they’re showing up for you!
Judy, I’m pretty confident it’s just rust.
His left foot appears to be holding onto what remains of some prey? Hilarious series watching him lose and finally recover his balance. And pretty darn good photos considering the distance from you. Even at that distance you still got good catch-eye in all of the photos. Without the aid of those wings we humans would have fallen off for sure.
“His left foot appears to be holding onto what remains of some prey?
Everett, at first I thought (or at least wondered) the same thing but I’m pretty sure it’s just the rusty top of the post.
Nice series! You caught the action just right so we get to view all aspects of his body in display. I can just visualize the action that was going on and especially like the far forward ‘wing dip’ near the end. Haven’t seen too many around here this winter and the ones I have have been mostly females. They are fine but I always feel coming across the ‘grey ghost’ makes it a special encounter!
Agreed, Kathy – the “ghost” part of the nickname for adult or nearly adult males is well deserved.
But we’re lucky around here, for some reason there seems to be a higher percentage of adult males at Farmington than at most places and that phenomenon has lasted for years. It isn’t just my observation, others have mentioned the same thing. To me it doesn’t seem logical but that’s the way it appears to be.