The aerial portion of the epic battle.
Yesterday as I reviewed the hundreds of photos I took two days ago of this 13 minute Red-tailed Hawk battle I realized that if I was going to tell the story well I’d have to divide it up into two separate posts, Part I and Part !!. There were just too many photos I wanted to include for a single edition of Feathered Photography.
This is Part I.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
It was a slow morning for birds so even though this immature Red-tailed Hawk was on an unattractive utility pole and had it’s back to me I decided to watch ‘him’ through my lens for a while. I wasn’t optimistic for flight shots because even if he did take off he was most likely to take off away from me. Much of the time I didn’t even have my finger on the shutter button.
I pride myself on being able to anticipate bird behaviors that I’d like to photograph by interpreting the subtle behaviors that precede them but the photographer has to be quick about it because birds are so dang fast..
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
So when he suddenly began to stretch his neck vertically I put my finger back on the shutter button. At first I thought he was about to preen his lower neck because birds often stretch their neck vertically before doing so. But then I noticed that he was staring intently at something to his right so I thought he’d spotted prey and might soon take off after it.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
Then this happened. For an instant I thought he was rousing but a nanosecond later my brain interpreted the behavior as the beginning of a threat/defensive posture that probably signaled another bird flying in aggressively. I expected it to be something like a mobbing blackbird, kestrel, or magpie but whatever it was I knew I wanted to capture it so I laid on my shutter button.
The following five photos were taken in a burst that took 1/2 second.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
I’ll be damned if it wasn’t another young Red-tailed Hawk that I didn’t even know was in the area.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
They locked talons on all four feet the instant they made contact. This is the preview photo I posted yesterday.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
The momentum of the incoming hawk…
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
knocked the defensive bird completely off his perch and upside down but their talons….
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in
remained locked during the entire aerial portion of their encounter.
After this shot was taken I lost sight of them through my viewfinder so I watched them with my naked eye as they spiraled all the way down to the ground, still locked together. They fought on the ground for 13 minutes before one flew off and then the other. Apparently neither bird was seriously injured which surprised me because they really duked it out.
My plan is to post photos of the ground fight tomorrow as Part II.
Ron.
Wow is right, what an awesome sequence!! Incredible shots. And Laura Culley is so right about hawk expressions – the second I saw the stretched-neck photo I thought, “Uh-oh!”
Poor Hawk. Just minding its own business. Glad they are both ok.
I believe they both came out of it relatively unscathed.
Wow, beautiful! Practicing for next spring, I guess! Thanks, Ron.
Thanks, Ellen.
Boy , did you hit the jackpot .The photos are thrilling , I can imagine how exciting it must have been to have them in your “sights” ! Looking forward to seeing part 2 !
Thank you, Laurel.
All kinds of WOW for this series. So glad they’re both OK — or seem to be from your description. I held my breath election-style (why is it so damn close???) until I got to your “Apparently…” sentence.
Marty, I threw that ‘apparently’ sentence in today instead of tomorrow because I knew folks would worry… 🙂
“Can’t we all just get along?” My sentiment looking at these battling red-tails and knowing how low their first-year survival rates are. I take heart that they both flew off apparently unbloodied, but that tattered tail of the pole hawk suggests he’s got a *very* hard road ahead. Still, just stunning photography, Ron — we’re very lucky you were there to capture the action humans rarely witness.
Chris, here’s how I try to look at it. That aggressive nature toward their own kind must serve them well as a species, otherwise it would be selected against. But I know what you mean.
WOW! Wonderful capture of the action one would barely see “just watching” 😀
WHEW on elections tho have no illusions about a lot getting done – at least “right” (morality wise)prevailed for now………
Thanks, Judy.
At least that part is over…
Not to be repetitive or anything, but DAMN WOW! What a spectacular series (as usual)!
My GUESS (NOT a scientific WAG, but just a garden-variety WA guess) is that the perched bird is a male and the aggressor might be a female–and yes, I’d like some syrup with that waffle please. In the last photo, the aggressor’s tarsus looks more like a AA battery while the other’s look more like a pencil, but it’s close.
Again, those feet move faster than we mere humans CAN think and they move with lethal accuracy. That they locked talons suggest to me that injuries would be negligible, but we’ll have to see where those talons go from the feet. There’s also the reality that MOST wild encounters end with somebody giving up quickly and ending the battle before any real damage occurs, but this one is more serious. Then again, the combatants are juveniles.
Another little detail I noticed yesterday was that the look in the eye of the perched presumed male was SERIOUS! Bearing in mind that they can’t do facial expressions–but they do it anyway, damn the experts! If you’ve ever seen stink eye, for example, you’d know the experts don’t have a clue about that. And also, totally ignoring that anthropomorphic thing because it doesn’t hold water, either. I can vouch for that because I see it every day, broken leg time aside!
You said I’m tough as nails with those talons, but not really. I just know how NOT to act like prey. That’s never a good thing because you get selected against! 😉
Laura, I always enjoy your insightful comments and the way you write them. This time I enjoyed two of your statements in particular:
“they can’t do facial expressions–but they do it anyway”
“I just know how NOT to act like prey. That’s never a good thing because you get selected against!”
“I’d like some syrup with that waffle”is a new one to me. Lol. Love it.
Incredible capture!
Thanks, April.
Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
This is stupendous.
My wimpy self is very glad that they could both fly away, and I am blown away.
Thank you, EC.
It’s hard to believe all that occurred in .5 seconds. Like the Hawks, you and your camera are a formidable combination.
I appreciate that, Lyle. Sometimes things work out but even if you’re prepared they often don’t. There’s just too many things that can go wrong and usually at least one of them does.
Never before have I seen such exciting and perfect photos. Anxious to see the rest. Beautiful job Ron
Thanks very much, Linda.
Wow, Wow, Wow, Ron!! Just stupendous captures!! RTHs are just behind our Bald Eagles and Osprey in my favorites ranking of Raptors. I will tell you I was so relieved to read that both hawks were able to fly away – even after a 13 minute battle!! I anxiously await part 2!!!
Jo Ann, while the fight on the ground was happening I fully expected to find one dead or terribly injured hawk on the ground when it was all over. I’m so glad I was spared that experience.
What an amazing series of photos! Outstanding job of capturing the behavior and aeronautical portion of this fight. Great description of the whole scene as well. I had to show my wife these photos first thing this morning. She was also duly impressed! I eagerly await part II.
Thanks, Steve. I’m glad both of you enjoyed them. By definition the photos of them fighting on the ground are very different from these aerial shots but I still think they’re very interesting.
It’s interesting to me as a rehabilitator that the tail feathers on the post bird are tattered. See photo 3 to compare with the aggressor’s perfect tail. That may mean that bird has spent time grounded. I’m curious about “the rest of the story”!
I noticed that too, Mikal. And wondered about it, especially because the young birds seem to be about the same age.
Wow! Something I’ll probably never get to see in person but so spectacular. What beautiful creatures. Thanks, Ron.
Keep our eyes peeled, Mary – you never know!
Was there barbed wire still attached to that post ? I had a sudden , horrible
vision of them both tumbling into that devil wire–from your “teaser” it sounds
as if that didn’t happen. I can’t think of any defensive posture I’ve seen from
ANY animal that looks as formidable as the one you’ve captured !
Nope, no barbed wire close to the pole, Kris. That pole is a feeder pole supplying electricity to a nearby barn but there’s no barbed wire nearby that I’m aware of.
Sensational as well as educational. Have never seen raptors doing this. Great photography job Ron to have been able to stick with them as they fought. Nature cooperated too giving you that perfect sky as a background for their battle. Definitely looking forward to the ground war.
Thanks, Everett. Yes that sky is a great background for behavioral shots like these. When they were on the ground some of the vegetation blocked my view of them a little but not much.
Remarkable photos of the attack. Wonderful!!
Thank you, Dan.