On the morning these photos were taken I had a lot of trouble with heat waves interfering with sharp focus so none of these photos are quite as sharp as I prefer, and usually expect. But I think they’re plenty sharp enough to document my experience with the hawk.
When I get a bird in my viewfinder I’m usually looking to get takeoff and/or flight shots when it takes off. And especially when it’s a larger bird, like most raptors for example, I anticipate that it will take off in the direction it was looking just prior to launch. If I’m right, and usually I am, that gives me a much better chance to keep it in frame while it’s in flight because I can allow more room in the frame in the direction it was looking – the same direction it would eventually take off.
But every once in a while, even a large raptor will try to fake me out with a flashy and unexpected maneuver.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Four days ago I saw this immature Red-tailed Hawk land on a large rock some distance away so I decided to see if ‘he’ would allow me a closer approach. He did.
He faced and looked to my right for the entire time I had him in my viewfinder, never even glancing in any other direction that I noticed. So assuming that if he took off he’d take off in the direction he was looking, I placed him to the left side of the frame in my viewfinder which allowed more room on the right.
Let’s see how things turned out. The following five photos are sequential without any skips.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Suddenly, with absolutely no warning, he twisted his body to face almost 180° behind him and…
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
took off in that direction instead. I just happened to be far enough away that I was still able to keep him in frame, despite his apparent efforts to outfox me.
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
In the next shot, the most dramatic of his flight postures, he had his nictitating membrane mostly closed.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
A flight posture I don’t capture very often. His tail looks huge.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Here he was picking up speed and his flight became more erratic so this is the last shot I got before I began to amputate body parts.
Given that he didn’t give me any behavioral cues that he was about to take off (he didn’t crouch, or poop or rouse), and he took off in the opposite direction he’d been looking, I was lucky to keep him in frame for as long as I did.
Despite long odds, sometimes things just work out.
Ron
Yes! Things sure did work out! Wonderful photos! Thanks so much for sharing! À bientôt! Mary
Expecting the unexpected. And good reflexes! Nice series. Loved the “big tail”
Brett, “expecting the unexpected” in bird photography was a hard lesson for me to learn but eventually I pretty much got it. Thanks.
I think he was saying, “There’s old Ron who thinks he knows my every move, but this morning I am going to fake him out.”
Excellent series and good work being able to move to what was happening even though not what you planned.
I have been faked out many times by various hawks, but rarely by eagles.
Love that last photo. Excellent.
“I have been faked out many times by various hawks, but rarely by eagles.”
The larger (thus slower) they are, the harder it is for them to fake us out. Thanks, Everett.
I REALLY LIKE shots #1 and #2– they’re such postural surprises,
especially the radical twist in #1 and the way the splayed toes in
#2 compliment the all-open flight feathers– glad you were able to stay with these unusual launch postures–great rewards !
Thank you, Kris.
WOW! Wonderful series, Ron! 🙂 That tail DOES look huge! You have to “win one” every now and again tho years of experience sure help……. 🙂
“That tail DOES look huge!”
In that shot it looks so big I had to count his tail feathers… 🙂 Thanks, Judy.
He’s a clever young one, but not clever enough for the wise ol’ teacher. Beautiful photos Ron!
“not clever enough for the wise ol’ teacher”
Wise and/or lucky, probably mostly the latter. Thank you, Mark.
Really nice shots for something so unexpected. All have something interesting to see.
Seems like a pretty advanced takeoff maneuver for a young Red.
Thanks, Michael. Maybe he was practicing. Whatever his motivation, he almost faked me out of my shoes (sandals, I very rarely wear shoes).
apparently most (all) birds (critters) are smarter than we generally give them credit for being… not just corvids & cetaceans….
Apparently…