Tag: swainson’s hawk

Birds From Our Recent Trip To Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

I spent most of last week at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana.  Regular readers of this blog know that it’s’ one of my favorite places on earth.  On this trip we didn’t have as much luck with raptors as we usually do at Red Rock but we still had a nice variety of birds, mostly good weather and we experienced some breathtaking scenery and blessed solitude.  Overall, a wonderful experience.    1/3200, f.6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Mountain Bluebirds are common this time of year so I’ll begin with a few of them.  The blues of the males are very intense and hard for the photographer to resist.  It’s difficult to catch them on a natural perch but most of the fence posts in the area are old and rustic which I like.      1/2000, f.7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I’m pretty sure this male was attempting to expel a pellet (rather than yawning) although it didn’t succeed before it flew off.      1/3200, f.7.1, ISO 800, 500 f/4 The female Mountain Bluebirds have less dramatic colors and their beauty is more subtle.  I caught this one hovering in front of her nest.  It’s been a traumatic spring for these bluebirds.  On Memorial Day a big storm dumped 15″ of snow resulting in an 85% mortality of bluebird chicks at the refuge.  They’re now trying again and have renested.      1/1600, f.6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc  Another male in the middle of a shake.  I just liked the ruffled feathers combined…

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The Swainson’s Hawks Are Finally Back

This morning we headed north once again in quest of Golden Eagles.  We found a few but they were too far away for decent photographs.  The consolation prize was this cooperative Swainson’s Hawk – our first of the season which delighted us.  In fact there were two of them, hanging out in the same general area.    1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 This bird was particularly fond of a couple of telephone poles in northern Box Elder County.  Here it is returning to the pole after leaving it for a short and unsuccessful hunting foray.   I’m not particularly happy with the wire and insulator but I liked the landing pose.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Sometimes this hawk perched on the top of the pole but one time it landed on the second wire strung below the first one.  Here it is taking off from that position with the pole directly out of frame to the left.  I like the dynamics of the take-off in contrast to the greater concentration demanded during landing.       1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I got a few shots of the hawk in full flight with legs tucked away cleanly.       1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Another take-off and for this one I had to clone out a small bit of the wire at lower left.  Cloning is something I don’t like to do but I do succumb to the temptation occasionally in certain situations.  A judgement call…       1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 I was…

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Swainson’s Hawk

A recent comment on this blog by Mike Shaw reminded me that I’ve never made a Swainson’s Hawk blog post.   Part of the reason is because I’ve had relatively few opportunities with them so my files are limited.  But in reviewing my images I thought I had enough acceptable photos to make a representative post on the species.  I’ve deliberately chosen shots that show these hawks from a variety of angles – front, back, side and in flight.       1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this young bird hunting grasshoppers along a gravel road at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  It would catch a ‘hopper, eat it on the road and then return to a nearby fencepost to watch for more of them.  The bird seemed to be  fearless and paid me very little attention.      1/1200, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4 Occasionally it would land on a different post but it didn’t stray far for quite a while.  With this pose we get a good look at the back side.          1/1600, f/8, ISO 320, 500 f/4 I thought this screaming pose was interesting enough to include here despite the nictitating membrane partially covering the eye and the slight tightness on the tail.        1/1000, f/8, ISO 320, 500 f/4   This is a different bird and I include the image for the good look at the underside plumage patterns in flight.         1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this cooperative adult at Farmington Bay Wildlife…

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