I visited the west desert three days ago and found Red-tailed hawks on the nest.
1/5000, F/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Their nest was high on a cliff, so it was difficult to see if there were any hawks on it unless one of them came to the nest’s edge. I composed this photo in an attempt to show as much of the nest as possible.
I’m pretty sure this is the male of the pair, about to take off.
1/5000, 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 this situation I usually have a hard time getting the bird sharp when it takes off because, with the background so very close my camera usually focuses on it, resulting in a soft bird.
1/5000, F/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But this time, with the combined efforts of camera and operator, I managed to get…
1/5000, F/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
three sharp shots during and after his takeoff.
1/5000, F/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
He ended up landing fairly close to his mate, that I hadn’t even seen until he landed there. That’s the male on the right, with his slightly larger mate at upper left.
I plan on watching this nest all spring and early summer in anticipation of recently fledged youngsters. Clumsy, curious and playful young red-tails are one of my favorite photographic subjects.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention another interesting experience I had that morning. Just a few minutes before I found the red-tails at their nest I decided to turn my pickup around so I could photograph some wild turkeys that were on the wrong side of the road as I passed them.
As I was in the process of turning around, an absolutely huge flock of Ring-necked Pheasants moved up onto the road in front of me. There were at least 200 of them, probably more, and as far as I could tell every last one of them was a rooster in breeding plumage – no females. Then, before I could even grab my camera (my hands were full of steering wheel), the flock took off in a whirr of noisy wings, with stragglers continuing to follow behind them.
Never in my life have I seen such a huge, tight flock of pheasants, all of them roosters. It definitely got my attention but sadly, no photos. I wasn’t happy with my turkey photos either.
Ron
Note: The pheasant phenomenon I described above may not be as unusual as I thought it was. For reasons unrelated to this post, I’ve been in recent contact with Montana master falconer Jim Wagner. When I told Jim about my pheasant experience, he responded with this:
“I was out hawking about six weeks ago and saw about 100 (pheasants), all roosters. I concluded they must be planted birds, but I claim no expertise on pheasants.”
Nice shots all Ron. I think you have shown us Red-tail nesting photos before in that same area. Always interesting to see.
Sorry you could not get photos of that flock of pheasants.
I have a book “An Asylum of Loons”, that gives the names for
all groups of birds. For Pheasants if is a NYE or BOUQUET,
Among my three most favorite words: Nesting Red-tails! So glad you visited their site and found them at home — hoping for a fruitful baby season and fun summer ahead!
“Among my three most favorite words: Nesting Red-tails! ”
Me too, Chris. Especially when it’s the first active nest I find in the early spring.
Love those RT shots. Looking forward to seeing photos of the youngsters.
Never knew pheasants gathered in such a large bunch. Planted birds? Maybe. Never heard of that either.
“Planted birds?”
Michael, in some areas pheasants are raised in captivity and then released for hunters. When that happens, the pheasants are said to be “planted”. I believe the pheasants in this area of the west desert breed in the wild, so they’re not planted.
Back in the ’70s here in Idaho when we still were harvesting three quarters of a million pheasants a year that late in the fall before the season closed in early December we would see huge flocks of pheasants that would come out just before dark to feed before going to roost. I’ve seen flocks of pheasants that with number three or 400 with a mixture of hens and roosters. This brings back memories of the good old days
Can’t wait to see the babies! Absolutely love the red-tail chick pic I purchased from you. It makes everyone smile
Kathleen, I forgot about that chick photo and purchase. Thanks for the reminder.
That second-to-last shot of the male red tail hawk is ultra-dynamic–
very exciting ! I’m glad you had such a productive day– I can only
imagine how spectacular that huge “herd” of turkeys must have been>
Thanks, Kris. Actually, there were only a few turkeys. The “herd’ was all pheasants.
Ron, Breathtaking take off photographs as only you can capture! I am grateful for all the hard work and talent you put into your blog. And your sense of humor is pretty good, too!
Karen, my sense of humor, for what it is, was honed over many years in the classroom. Trying to keep teenagers on task and interested can be a challenge. A sense of humor helps immensely.
And I can assure you his sense of humor is a touch on the wicked side. Not only was he good at keeping things light with the kids, but he was also fond of practical jokes on his colleagues.
“I can assure you his sense of humor is a touch on the wicked side.”
I can’t deny it, Sue. There’s a fine line between what’s ‘appropriate” in the classroom and what isn’t. I walked that line, I think with skill. And the kids appreciated it. I miss those little snots, even to this day.
Here’s a sobering thought. The kids that were seniors when you and I retired would be about 38 years old today. Sheesh!
Yup. It was about 22 years ago right about now that we decided to take the district’s “generous” offer and make our exits gracefully. So some of those seniors might even be 40. Good grief!
Well, I hope you’re happy with your Red-tailed photos – they are great! Thanks.
I am, Noel. Thank you.
Beautiful shots of the Red-tail! That certainly is a huge nest. Hopefully it’s a productive season for them.
Flushing some here always gives me a “start”……
I’ve never seen a flock of pheasants even close to that number – lucky if there are a dozen at any one time here. Must have been some racket!
“Must have been some racket!”
Judy, I was very surprised that they didn’t squawk when they took off. All I remember hearing was the whirring sound of their wings, which was substantial all by itself.
My heart has been in my throat more than once when I flushed pheasants right in front of me. Their squawking can be unbelievably loud.
I guess when you take photos of as many birds as you do, some of them (2 possible antecedents for that pronoun) are bound to be turkeys.
Sue, I get more of that kind of turkey than I want to…