Red-tailed Hawk In Flight

Once in a great while pretty much everything goes right for flight shots after a raptor takes off. This was one of those very rare times.

I’ve been posting quite a few Red-tailed Hawk photos in the last few weeks but I can only post what I shoot and three days ago it was red-tails galore. Over the course of about three hours I saw about 30 different red-tails, most of them juveniles with their siblings, and several of them were actually cooperative.

This one couldn’t have been more so.

 

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Based on perceived size and tarsi thickness I’m going to refer to ‘her’ as a female. She was at just the right distance for flight shots (close enough for good detail and far enough away to make it easier to keep her in frame while she was in flight), her direction of takeoff and flight couldn’t have been better, I had good light on her and I like the background. A lot.

The white metal ranch gate she took off from was a bit garish but I won’t whine about that.

 

 

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Fourteen shots in the burst later I still had her in frame and in focus. For this series of two flight shots I chose to include one with her wings up and…

 

 

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

another with her wings down.

She kept her eye on me in flight so I had a great head turn for the entire series before she eventually banked away from me and flew off toward the mountains. It’s also nice to get some green in my backgrounds. This time of year, unless I’m up in the mountains, that almost never happens.

I got over 40 sharp flight shots of her with no body parts clipped or cut off. The only thing I can complain about is that one of the potentially best photos wasn’t sharp enough.

And that’s the fault of the photographer, not the bird. From my perspective she did everything right.

Ron

 

31 Comments

  1. THIRTY red-tailed hawks in the one morning??? AND a co-operative one? Did you buy a lottery ticket on your way home?

  2. She knows she’s showing off her skills for you! I’d love to spend a few hours hanging out with 30 RTHAs! 💜

  3. Never. Too. Many. Red-tails or any other raptors.
    I think that look in her eye is, “So, whaddaya think? I’ve got it down, don’t I?” And she definitely does…as do you! 😎

  4. 30 in one day… How lucky were you! I’ll never tire of these gorgeous raptors.

  5. These are great. That glaring look at you is marvelous. She may be immature, but that look is all serious business.

  6. Beautiful 💜

  7. Gorgeous! I just love the way she kept her eye on you.

  8. What a day. 40 takeoff and flight photos of her and 30 sightings overall. Some days you just can’t win.😉
    I’d say you and her did everything right.
    “…I can only post what I shoot.” Lucky us.

    • “I can only post what I shoot.” Lucky us”

      I’m glad you feel that way, Lyle. I’m sure some readers are growing weary of all of the red-tail photos I’ve been posting in the last couple of months.

  9. Everett F Sanborn

    Since I started following FP you have always had really good inf light shots of all sorts of raptors and others, but since you starting using the R5 they have gotten even better.

    PS ditto for me re Dick’s love of birds of prey. Definitely my favorites from eagles to hawks to falcons etc – some of the most beautiful and majestic birds you will ever see.

  10. Charlotte Norton

    Sensational series Ron, thanks for sharing!

    Charlotte Norton

  11. Beth Ann Doerring

    Wow! Love these especially the wing tip detail in the second one! Gorgeous and inspiring photos!

  12. Excellent images! Having so many of these around would be fantastic.

  13. Beautiful! 🙂 Photgoraphy God’s DID cooperate with you for these shots…..;) Luv how she’s looking at you the whole time. My feelings on the metal fence is that it was there and she made use of “the tools available”. Man made items seem to bother the critters a whole lot less then it does us! 😉

    Covid and the ongoing drought HAVE definitely made changes in our life style..

  14. Kenneth C Schneider

    Very crisp and nice selections to exhibit motion and power.

  15. I have to admit I absolutely LOVE birds of prey! I don’t know what that says, but I love your images, adult, immature or stages of maturity, it doesn’t matter to me, love em all!

    Hope you guys are well.

    Our retirement community has and is threatened by various iterations of COVID. So far our isolation is working, but for many it is a tough course to follow.

    • Thanks for the kind words about my raptor photos, Dick.

      So far we’ve been lucky with Covid. But the price has been taking up the lifestyle of a hermit for the last few years.

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