{"id":103087,"date":"2021-10-07T05:54:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T11:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=103087"},"modified":"2021-10-07T06:16:59","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T12:16:59","slug":"male-rufous-red-tailed-hawk-an-unexpected-takeoff-maneuver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/07\/male-rufous-red-tailed-hawk-an-unexpected-takeoff-maneuver\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Rufous Red-tailed Hawk – An Unexpected Takeoff Maneuver"},"content":{"rendered":"

An unusual way to gain additional speed quickly during takeoff?<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: Prepare yourself, these are some of the messier photos I’ve posted to my blog. The hawk almost gets lost in the incredibly busy setting and except for the first photo I didn’t get catch lights in his eye. But this post is about behavior rather than aesthetics.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

This is our old friend the rufous male Red-tailed Hawk I photographed four days ago. I watched as he carried a vole in his talons and landed with it on this perch. The large, twig-free branch made an ideal dining table that I suspect he may use often while tearing apart and eating prey. I took many photos of him as he was eating the vole but with the background so close they didn’t turn out very well.<\/p>\n

In this shot he had finished his meal, cleaned his beak and turned around to face the direction he flew in from. As usual I was after takeoff and flight shots so I composed him in the frame in a manner I thought appropriate for takeoff and tried to anticipate his direction and angle of launch.<\/p>\n

Immediately after takeoff he pulled a maneuver that made me say, out loud, something like “Wow, what just happened there?”. I didn’t know for sure what I’d seen until I looked at my photos at home.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

The moment of takeoff. This photo allows me to see something I didn’t have time to notice when it was happening – he’s looking down rather than forward as I would expect him to in this situation. He has plans for the smaller branch I’ve marked with a red arrow so keep your eye on it.<\/p>\n

These photos are sequential shots in a burst. It’s important that you keep in mind that there’s only 1\/10th of a second between each photo – the entire maneuver occurred very, very quickly.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

He’s left the perch and now he’s looking down at an even steeper angle directly at the smaller branch, even though he doesn’t intend to land there..<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

As he passed over that branch he grasped it with his right foot.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

A tight crop of the previous photo gives us a better look at what he was doing with his right foot. It almost looks like his intention was to land on that branch.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

But he didn’t. He didn’t touch it with his left foot and he didn’t even slow down as he passed over the branch..<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

Here his right leg and foot is trailing behind after it left the branch.<\/p>\n

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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n

And then he was gone, continuing in the direction that was his original intention.<\/p>\n

So now we know what<\/em> he did but the pertinent question is… why did he do it?<\/em> Here’s my theory, for what it’s worth.<\/p>\n

It’s my guess that he used his right foot to push off of the the branch as a method of accelerating and gaining extra speed quickly. I think it’s likely that all the branches and leaves around him prevented him from using his wings as efficiently as usual during takeoff so he took advantage of the conveniently-placed branch for extra spring immediately after launch.<\/p>\n

At this point you may be wondering, why does it matter? Why am I devoting an entire post to such a seemingly inconsequential detail? All I can say is it matters to the hawk so it matters to me.<\/p>\n

Besides, everything I can learn about the behavior of my subjects has the potential of making me a better bird photographer.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An unusual way to gain additional speed quickly during takeoff?<\/p>\n

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