Eight Of My Favorite Rough-legged Hawk Photos
This is the time of year I start to get antsy about the return of the Rough-legged Hawks.
Tag: kiting
Female Red-tailed Hawk Kiting With Nesting Material
Typically with Red-tailed Hawks both sexes contribute to nest-building and in this case it was the female’s turn to carry a stick to the nest. However, this time it was a two-stage delivery.
Rough-legged Hawk Kiting In The Wind
I spent more time with this Rough-legged Hawk than I have with any other raptor in flight.
Sexing (and identifying juvenile) Rough-legged Hawks
The Rough-legged Hawk is our only buteo that exhibits true sexual dimorphism so adults can be sexed based on plumage.
Rough-legged Hawk With A Vole And Kiting In The Wind
Rough-legged Hawk Kiting Along The Antelope Island Causeway
This bird was kiting in the updrafts as the winds rose when they hit the elevated causeway to Antelope Island.
Rough-legged Hawk – Hopefully A Harbinger Of Birds Soon To Come
Rough-legged Hawks are one of the salves that help me get through our cold, dreary winters. When they show up…
Male Harrier Hunting In A Quartering Wind
The eight minutes I spent photographing this male Northern Harrier in flight were both exhilarating and frustrating to the extreme.
Northern Harrier Kiting Against A Mountain Backdrop
Wind can be an issue when photographing birds in flight but at times it can also be your friend.
Kiting Male Northern Harrier
On this morning at Farmington Bay we weren’t having very much luck with birds so Mia suggested that we hang out next to a high dike where the south wind was creating an updraft that we’d seen a male Northern Harrier kiting in earlier. Despite the less than perfect light angle it turned out to be another one of Mia’s good ideas because it wasn’t long before the harrier returned to play in the updrafts and hunt the dike edges. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Two things made this an especially interesting situation – the fact that the harrier was kiting (giving us more time with the bird) and the variety of backgrounds we got when the harrier would move just a few feet in the air. It was a partly cloudy day and the bird was usually hanging just above the snow-covered Wasatch Range to the east so at times I got thin white clouds in the background, or a mix of clouds and blue sky, or both sky and mountains or the mountains alone. Throw into that mix the fact that the light was constantly changing because of the clouds and you’ll understand the exposure difficulties that morning. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Because of the challenging light angle much of the harrier was often backlit but the head turn in this shot giving light on the head and eye made this image work for me. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Here the light was…
Kiting Rough-legged Hawk
Kiting is the ability of some birds to maintain a stable position in the air by using air currents rather than by the flapping of wings or hovering. Last week I had a wonderful opportunity with this young Rough-legged Hawk while it was kiting in the stiff wind rising up from the Antelope Island causeway. The light was good and the bird was cooperative and let me get close – what more could a bird photographer wish for? 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It was amazing to see how still in the air this bird could be – often maintaining the same relative position to the ground without significant wing movement for long periods. I swear that if I had been using a tripod I could have focused on the bird, walked away for 10 seconds or so and then returned and snapped the shutter with the hawk still in the frame and without having had to look through the viewfinder or refocus. A bit of a stretch perhaps, but not by a lot. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Much of the time the hawk was hunting – looking down into the grasses for voles. That head position doesn’t provide the eye contact that is photographically desirable but I wanted to include a shot that illustrated hunting posture. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The hawk caught several voles while I was photographing it. In this instance the bird immediately took to the air with the very young vole… …
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Female Red-tailed Hawk Kiting With Nesting Material
Typically with Red-tailed Hawks both sexes contribute to nest-building and in this case it was the female’s turn to carry a stick to the nest. However, this time it was a two-stage delivery.
Rough-legged Hawk Kiting In The Wind
I spent more time with this Rough-legged Hawk than I have with any other raptor in flight.
Sexing (and identifying juvenile) Rough-legged Hawks
The Rough-legged Hawk is our only buteo that exhibits true sexual dimorphism so adults can be sexed based on plumage.
Rough-legged Hawk With A Vole And Kiting In The Wind
Rough-legged Hawk Kiting Along The Antelope Island Causeway
This bird was kiting in the updrafts as the winds rose when they hit the elevated causeway to Antelope Island.
Rough-legged Hawk – Hopefully A Harbinger Of Birds Soon To Come
Rough-legged Hawks are one of the salves that help me get through our cold, dreary winters. When they show up…
Male Harrier Hunting In A Quartering Wind
The eight minutes I spent photographing this male Northern Harrier in flight were both exhilarating and frustrating to the extreme.
Northern Harrier Kiting Against A Mountain Backdrop
Wind can be an issue when photographing birds in flight but at times it can also be your friend.
Kiting Male Northern Harrier
On this morning at Farmington Bay we weren’t having very much luck with birds so Mia suggested that we hang out next to a high dike where the south wind was creating an updraft that we’d seen a male Northern Harrier kiting in earlier. Despite the less than perfect light angle it turned out to be another one of Mia’s good ideas because it wasn’t long before the harrier returned to play in the updrafts and hunt the dike edges. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Two things made this an especially interesting situation – the fact that the harrier was kiting (giving us more time with the bird) and the variety of backgrounds we got when the harrier would move just a few feet in the air. It was a partly cloudy day and the bird was usually hanging just above the snow-covered Wasatch Range to the east so at times I got thin white clouds in the background, or a mix of clouds and blue sky, or both sky and mountains or the mountains alone. Throw into that mix the fact that the light was constantly changing because of the clouds and you’ll understand the exposure difficulties that morning. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Because of the challenging light angle much of the harrier was often backlit but the head turn in this shot giving light on the head and eye made this image work for me. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Here the light was…
Kiting Rough-legged Hawk
Kiting is the ability of some birds to maintain a stable position in the air by using air currents rather than by the flapping of wings or hovering. Last week I had a wonderful opportunity with this young Rough-legged Hawk while it was kiting in the stiff wind rising up from the Antelope Island causeway. The light was good and the bird was cooperative and let me get close – what more could a bird photographer wish for? 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It was amazing to see how still in the air this bird could be – often maintaining the same relative position to the ground without significant wing movement for long periods. I swear that if I had been using a tripod I could have focused on the bird, walked away for 10 seconds or so and then returned and snapped the shutter with the hawk still in the frame and without having had to look through the viewfinder or refocus. A bit of a stretch perhaps, but not by a lot. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Much of the time the hawk was hunting – looking down into the grasses for voles. That head position doesn’t provide the eye contact that is photographically desirable but I wanted to include a shot that illustrated hunting posture. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The hawk caught several voles while I was photographing it. In this instance the bird immediately took to the air with the very young vole… …