Plus a couple of other interesting events in the life of a raptor.
1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 400, 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 this presumed female (based on tarsi thickness) immature Red-tailed Hawk seriously tried my patience. I sat on her for 23 minutes waiting for her to take off but she was in no damned hurry. A wait that long is pretty tense, knowing that takeoff only takes an instant and if you’re not fully prepared for it when it happens you’ll miss it.
The saving grace was that she was in an attractive setting of dark brown phrag plumes with a marshland playa and horizon line behind her so I knew I’d like some of my static shots, despite her metal fencepost perch. At least the post was an old rusty one instead of being painted with garish colors.
I despise new metal fence posts whose tops have been dipped in orange or puke green paint.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Here it may look like she slipped on her perch and is trying to regain her balance but instead we’re seeing a startle reaction. On two different occasions something in the vegetation below her spooked her and she reacted like this. Even a large raptor like a red-tail can move incredibly fast when spooked and I was duly impressed by her speed in raising her wings. She raised them much faster than they typically do when taking off.
This reaction was in sharp contrast to her reaction when a…
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Northern Harrier dive bombed her. In these situations I expect the bird being mobbed to at least raise its wings into a defensive posture but the only reaction I noticed from her was that she flattened the feathers on the top of her head. She was pretty blasé about it all.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
But eventually she finally decided to take off and thankfully…
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
I was prepared.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
She even took off at an almost perfect angle for photography instead of turning on her perch and launching away from me as they so often do.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
The phrag plume in front of her right wing is unfortunate but I can live with it.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
This is the cleanest shot I got of her in flight. I like how her entire body is hanging from her wings.
A vertical composition of the previous photo if you prefer.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Three shots in the burst later she was beginning to turn away from me so this is the last photo I’ll include in the series.
I realize that I post a lot of Red-tailed Hawk photos but they’re the raptor I see most often (harriers are close) and I can only photograph what I see. Besides, I know that red-tails have many fans among the followers of Feathered Photography.
Ron
I think that first photo is timeless.
Fantastic series Ron, just wonderful.
Thank you, Dave.
Hi Ron,
You nailed it – a spectacular series of images – well done.
Thanks very much, Gary.
Beautiful!
Thanks, April.
from a true lover of Red Tails….thank you for this series of photos.
i so adore these birds! never too many Red Tail photos for me! 😉
Thank you, Karen.
Wut, you mean Red-tails (and Harriers) aren’t the whole reason you started this blog!? I’ll confess they’re the reason I came here to begin with. 😬
This is an amazing series—and I do love that shot with her flattened head feathers and the Harrier attempting to get a rise out of her. Also that full-out stretch, exposing the beautiful britches. Oh, really, just all of them. Thank you!
Well, I’ll admit that raptors in general are a huge component of Feathered Photography, Chris. Thank you.
She rewarded your patience generously.
What an incredibly beautiful bird.
I really, really liked the flattened head feathers shot – and prefer the vertical ‘hanging from her wings’. And of course I noticed (and admired) her beautiful britches.
Thank you. And her.
I think I like that vertical comp best too. Thanks, EC.
Thank you for your patience Ron. Can’t imagine how difficult it is to wait 23min with your heavy camera poised for a split second action shot. Love this series of the red-tail.
Thanks, Kathleen. It was challenging but worth it in the end.
The one you called an “almost perfect angle” shot is really amazing. I love birds. I am fairly sure there is not a bird out there that I wouldn’t like seeing a picture of. Trying to think….maybe a cowbird because of the nest takeover, but then again, they are just going by their nature.
Arwen, I always say “if it has feathers I’ll take its picture”.
NoteToSelf: No feather boas around Ron. NO NO NO
🙂 Or feather hats.
Spectacular series Ron, thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Charlotte.
Such a beautiful series, Ron. The red-tailed hawk was the first I ever learned to identify and there are plenty of them in Missouri, but your photos let me “see” them as I have never done before.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
23 minutes looking at her beats 23 minutes waiting in line at the DMV or a lot of other things I can think of. Still, you stuck it out in your cold pickup for longer than my short attention span would allow and the results paid off. Each photo could suffice for a standalone post but the series is a totally entertaining slice of life. One of many reasons I look forward to each day’s delivery.
Lyle, truth be told my pickup wasn’t particularly cold while I was waiting. The sun was shining so the greenhouse effect with the sun shining through all the glass helped a lot inside the truck. The only thing that got cold was my left hand sticking out the window to brace my lens. That hand got so cold it ached for a while afterward.
Oh wow! I felt lifted as I watched this Red Tail lift…I’m saving this series to go back to again and again. What a gift, thanks, Ron!
Good to know you enjoyed the series that much, Mary. Thanks.
I surely did love this series– especially the serene beauty of #1, and the
impressive total body stretch of the launch shot…..without Kathy’s “dry eye”
quip, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that it would be part of the equation in a
long wait such as this–one blink, and your subject would be GONE .Thanks
for all that you put into each day’s yield of wonderful images.
Kris, I can’t help but blink while I’m waiting for takeoff but I don’t allow myself much of anything else that will take away my focus, even for an instant. If I break that cardinal rule the bird invariably takes off at exactly the wrong time.
This was a perfect morning! Only another photographer knows and understands what you went through with each passing minute…heck each second as you neared the end of that time…dry eye and all! 😩 But it was worth every bit of it. Excellent series! I just love the casual glance of ignoring the harrier! 😍 Great day for you!
“Only another photographer knows and understands what you went through”
Yup, you get it Kathy. Describing it and living it are altogether different.
Just an outstanding series. She is beautiful and so are these photos. Each one is so sharp and the colors stand out so well against that dull grayish sky. Outstanding. In that 2nd one I find myself wondering if her startled look comes from fear of what is down there or opportunity for a strike.
Laughing at the 23 minute wait. Have done that with eagles and various raptors and if I did it say 100 times I could only say that I was successful 10 times. Generally my impatience takes over long before 23 minutes.
Thank you, Everett. As you know, in these situations impatience is the bird photographer’s worst enemy. I suffer from the condition myself but I try to fight it. The boredom of waiting is much worse than missing the shots.
I love that first photo. If feels so soothing and peaceful. Maybe even ethereal. Very nice!
Thanks very much, David. I’m quite fond of it myself.
Wonderful series Ron…….😀 I couldn’t sit still that long and if I could, sure as hell I’d lower the camera at the wrong moment!😳 “Startle” response can be a life and death matter! Glad you could capture it. Interesting the Northern Harrier didn’t seem to phase her much – been there, done that before perhaps.. 😉
“sure as hell I’d lower the camera at the wrong moment!”
Believe me Judy, that happens to me all the time.
And you don’t even have to lower the camera to miss it. All it takes is a quick glance down at your settings in your viewfinder or letting off a little on your finger pressure on the shutter button which slows the speed of your ‘hair trigger’. Birds are FAST.
For me cuss words are a natural result of bird photography. I know that proverbial sailor well…
Me too…….!😉