![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/northern-harrier-5598-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTalk about a last-minute opportunity.<\/p>\n
Yesterday morning, after nearly three mostly fruitless hours on Antelope Island looking for cooperative birds, I turned tail and headed for home. Immediately after passing through the entrance station to the state park and causeway, after I had already turned my camera off, stowed it in my lens caddy and secured myself in my seat belt, I spotted a male Northern Harrier hunting along the left side of the road edge about 75 yards in front of me. I saw him dive on prey and at first he stayed there, hidden in the grasses, so I thought he might have caught something.<\/p>\n
Even with all the traffic beginning to line up at the entrance station I turned my camera back on and began to creep forward in the hope that I’d get lucky. It was a very long shot but what did I have to lose?.<\/p>\n
Before I got anywhere near him he took off again and yes, he had a vole in his talons. He crossed the road in front of me, from the left side to the right, and circled back in the direction of the entrance station. With the vole in his talons I thought he might land close to the road or parking lot to eat it so I turned around to see if I could find him again.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n And there he was, perched on a fence post and ripping into the vole. He was strongly side-lit so none of my photos of him with the vole turned out very well. This photo was taken after he’d eaten the vole, cleaned himself up a little, and was trying to decide which direction to take off.<\/p>\n I was parked on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, facing west, but it was early enough that no one was leaving the island yet so there was no traffic coming my way. As a result I had plenty of time with the harrier in my viewfinder so my goal was takeoff and flight shots..<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I got several of them but this is one of the few that was sharp enough, with no clipped or cut off body parts. He surprised me by twisting on his perch, taking off in my direction, and then turning quickly and sharply to my right.<\/p>\n So in summary, I left the island and causeway defeated but last minute circumstances saved my morning. Just goes to show, Yogi was right. It ain’t over till it’s over.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Talk about a last-minute opportunity.\u00a0 (2 photos)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/northern-harrier-5609-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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