![\"rough-legged-hawk-3681\"](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/rough-legged-hawk-36811.jpg\" "\\"rough-legged-hawk-3681\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a01\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n This one was atop a perch that is photographically challenging – a Tintic Quartzite boulder on the north end of Antelope Island.\u00a0\u00a0 These rocks often blow out the whites on the sun side, especially if the bird on them is dark.\u00a0 I’ve deleted many a shot of a raven on one of these boulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 800, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/em><\/p>\n This morning I had a wonderful (though sometimes frustrating) time with the roughies on the island.\u00a0 The highlight of\u00a0the morning came when I was trying to sneak up on a kestrel perched in a rabbit brush.\u00a0 As I did so I noticed a gull flying right toward the\u00a0kestrel but I quickly ignored it and concentrated on the kestrel.\u00a0 Then, at the last second, something in my mind said “hey, that was\u00a0no gull”\u00a0just as the bird swooped low over the kestrel and started to fly by my truck.\u00a0 Yup, it was a roughie.\u00a0 Roughies are lighter in color\u00a0than most hawks and combined\u00a0with the fact that it was flying toward us (which roughies seldom do)\u00a0made me think it was a first year gull for a\u00a0 few seconds.\u00a0I almost missed the opportunity because of a stupid mistake (made me feel better though that at first\u00a0Mia thought it was a gull too).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 800, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/p>\n These four shots are my favorites of the sequence and they’re posted in\u00a0order as the hawk flew by.\u00a0 I liked the tilt of the head best in this image but do wish I had a little more room up top for composition.\u00a0 Guess I’ll have to add some canvas…\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/4000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/p>\n This one has the wing behind the head but I think it works because of the light on the face.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 800, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/p>\n \u00a0I’m sure that this hawk wouldn’t have flown so close to us if it hadn’t felt the need to buzz the kestrel.\u00a0 Some may not be particularly fond of the plain blue sky background but I’m delighted to get my first keeper roughie photographs in a couple of seasons.<\/p>\n A note about my camera settings for this sequence:\u00a0 I didn’t need so much shutter speed and should have been at ISO 500.\u00a0 My excuse is that it had been cloudy all morning until just before this hawk fly by and the light had been low.\u00a0 Just forgot to adjust – not the first time either…<\/p>\n I can’t resist posting a few images that demonstrate what usually <\/em>happens when I’m lucky enough to even locate one of these birds (all three examples are also from this morning on the island) – just to show you why I’m\u00a0happy with the first\u00a0five\u00a0photographs in this post.\u00a0 Lots of things have to come together to get good quality shots\u00a0and usually some of them are missing.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a01\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 640, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/p>\n Nice setting, pleasantly blurred background and good light but<\/em> the bird spooked before I got close enough and it turned slightly away as it took off.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a01\/400, f\/5.6, ISO 800, f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/p>\n I liked the way this roughie was nestled down in the perch almost like it was nesting there and I got reasonably close to the bird\u00a0but<\/em> the lighting was worse than mediocre (clouds when we first got on the island) so the background is high key (which I’ve never been a\u00a0fan of)\u00a0and I have little light in the eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n