Red-tailed Hawk In Flight Soon After Takeoff

One of the advantages of shooting in early morning light.

 

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon F5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Early yesterday morning, when this immature Red-tailed Hawk took off from an elevated rocky outcrop, I didn’t have the best of luck with wing positions in many of my photos of him. I got quite a few flight shots with no clipped or cut off body parts but in many of them his left wing was casting a shadow on his face or hiding his face completely from view. This is one of my photos where that wasn’t a problem.

Because his perch was elevated he’s losing elevation as he picks up speed. I like the eye contact, his hanging feet and legs, the sagebrush in the background and my exposure on the hawk (even though the shadow on his right wing doesn’t have a lot of detail.). If the photo had been taken later in the morning when the light was harsher the near-whites of his left wing and underparts would almost certainly have been overexposed. As it was I had to tone those whites down slightly during processing.

I only had time yesterday to process this single image but I’ll probably post more photos of him in the fairly near future.

Ron

 

25 Comments

  1. As you know, we can never get enough Red-tailed Hawk photos (or other hawks, or raptors, or …) but this beauty is a very satisfactory appetizer!
    Wondering if you’ve got any promising nesting sites in your sights yet?

  2. As others have said, that shadow sets off his head in the best possible way. I am v pleased to also notice that others (thanks Kathleen) notice those beautiful britches.
    Thanks Ron – and I hope today is a good day for you.

    • It’s been good so far, EC. I didn’t think I’d be able to plant tomatoes this year but I got the garden tilled and ready to plant without major damage to my back. That cheers me up considerably.

  3. Nifty flight posture (almost like my favorite “wing fling” pose). I especially like having the shadow behind his head, as it highlights that handsome face.

    Spent many wonderful minutes watching the antics of (what I’m pretty sure after some research was) an adult male Wilson’s Warbler and an Anna’s or Rufous Hummingbird in my yard yesterday. I’m not sure who was chasing whom, but I thought of you and your camera. 🙂

    • “I thought of you and your camera”

      Now that would have been a challenge, Marty – even with the R5 and especially for me. I’ll bet it was fun for you, though.

    • Now *that* would be something to see! I get Wilson & Anna (or Allen) at my boulder fountain at the same time, but have never seen them chase after one another! Wilson is the adorbler of all warblers, IMHO… 😎

      • It was a blast! It reminded me of watching two dogs engaged in appropriate play, as there was “chasing” on both sides, but I’m not sure that the birds were playing. No sign of either today, but the Mourning Doves are out and about.

  4. Nice angle to show off his pantaloons – they look so fluffy. The light on his head is perfect!

  5. Everett F Sanborn

    Beautiful Ron and agree. The eye contact is really good – would be hard to ask for anything more. When you see a hawk or eagle in flight and you swing that camera up to catch it you may take the best photos you are capable of, but you have no control over the lighting or the catch eye etc. But it is a joy when you put it on the screen and everything is as you would want it.

  6. A beautiful morning for a Red-tailed Hawk shot! Love it. Thanks Ron. I hope you have been feeling ok as you await your back surgery. Take care.

  7. Beautiful! Almost like he’s just dropping down “just cuz” 😉 Detail is great and even shadow on the right wing shows off his head. Must just be the light – primaries on the right wing look like they were cut off a bit like when we’d do chickens/pet birds to keep them from flying….. 😉

  8. Michael McNamara

    Immature Red. The time of day, pose, the stage of flight, that look; everything about this photo brings back memories of my beginner falconry days. Been about 40 year since I had a bird on the wrist. But I still feel a strong affinity with these hawks. Thanks for the inspirational shot. Love it.

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