I found him again yesterday morning and this time he was enjoying breakfast.
1/5000, 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
Soon after I arrived at my shooting location early yesterday morning my old friend the male rufous Red-tailed Hawk was obviously eating. As I watched him feeding through my lens I was surprised by something. While he was eating I couldn’t see his food item but I’d estimate that voles are the prey I see red-tails with about 95% of the time and it typically takes them less than 30 seconds to consume one, sometimes much less.
But he picked at this food item for a very long time which made me suspicious that this time it was something other than a vole, probably something significantly larger. In fact I was so surprised by how long it was taking him I voiced my suspicions out loud.
Much later, when he eventually took off with what he was eating, it turned out that I was right.
1/5000, 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
I don’t know if his food item was originally prey or carrion (possibly road kill) but whatever it was it was much too large to be a vole. Perhaps it was what was left of a larger mammal, or even a bird like a pheasant or a turkey is a possibility. I suspect it’s probably a mammal but I just can’t tell, not for sure anyway.
Not that it matters much I guess. But these kinds of things make me curious. If it’s important to a hawk, and it obviously is, it’s important to me.
Ron
Note: It might help to identify the food item if these photos were a little sharper but yesterday both of us were having trouble with heat wave distortion so our photos were softer and had less detail than usual.
Missed this yesterday but let me ooh and ahh over this most handsome fella! His coloring is just outrageous—and his lengthy legs could almost rival those of today’s harrier. Great photos, Ron!
Sensational Ron, thanks for sharing!
Charlotte Norton
Thanks, Charlotte.
You nailed those takeoff shots. I don’t think he could be any more rufouser.
I agree it looks like a rib or leg or tail, but i’ll go way out in left field and suggest it’s a pieice of root. Did you observe him actually ingesting it? Also, no blood visible.
“I don’t think he could be any more rufouser”
Sometimes you crack me up, Lyle. That was one of those times.
Don’t think it’s anything like a root. He was seriously picking at it, tearing pieces off and swallowing.
I am sooo glad to see that my obsession with pantaloons/britches has spread. And this is a stylish beauty in them.
Whatever it is he is eating it is obviously a prize.
EC, you’re most definitely a trendsetter!
Question – why do you call it rufous as opposed to dark morph?
Love your photos and explanations.
Thanks, Mandy
Mandy, both terms, dark morph and rufous phase, are used by me and others, I guess I just prefer the latter but I do use both.
Love the photos Ron. Wish I could get the hawks around here to thin out the squirrel population a bit!
p.s. A big fan of Hill Street Blues here as well
It seems you’re not the only HSB fan around here, Mark. I never watched it much but I enjoyed it when I did.
Very difficult to see what his treasure is. Laughing at those very skinny thighs or pantaloons as Judy calls them. Have to comment on Marty’s remembrance of Hill Street Blues. Back when the show was at its height of popularity a good work friend in L.A. had a very serious stroke and was in a hospital in Long Beach paralyzed and unable to speak. Other than maybe the Dodgers his favorite thing in the world was Hill Street Blues. I wrote to the studio and asked them if they could maybe send him a couple signed photos or something to cheer him up. A couple weeks later I went to the hospital to visit him and was shocked at the outpouring of affection and good cheer he had received from them. All the nurses and doctors were talking about it. They had sent signed photos of almost every cast member along with personal notes from the actors, producers, directors, etc. Their reaction to my letter far exceeded whatever expectations I might have had. I took photos of all the material they sent and shared it with everyone at work and needless to say it made Hill Street Blues the most popular TV show at our company.
That’s a neat story, Everett. It’s nice to learn about good folks in any walk of life, especially these days..
That is such an awesome story, Everett! I hope that your friend was able to make as full a recovery as possible.
He really stands out against the blue sky. Love this picture.
Whatever he has he’s got a good grip on it.
Thanks, Diana.
Beautiful bird…. 🙂 Definitely got an excellent view of the “pantaloons”! 😉 Almost looks like a rib bone of something to me. I don’t often seen hawks on road kill here – Eagles/Crows/Magpies yes.
“I don’t often seen hawks on road kill here”
I don’t either, Judy. It’s very unusual.
Pantaloons! And glad he’s finding food, although whatever that is doesn’t look exactly fresh. I hope that if he’s grabbing road kill he doesn’t become a casualty himself. As Sgt. Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) would say in Hill Street Blues, “Be careful out there!”
“Pantaloons!”
Ha, you beat EC to it, Marty. See, there are some advantages to commenting early… 😁
I very rarely, if ever, see red-tails on road kill but they are known to eat carrion.