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I’ll hopefully be photographing birds and wildlife the entire trip. I’m generally not fussy about what subjects I find but as I’ve contemplated the trip I must admit that two raptor target species keep coming to mind.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/red-tailed-hawk-8025b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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\u00a01\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0 Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc\u00a0, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The first is the dark morph Red-tailed Hawk. I’ve had relatively few opportunities with the dark morph but I was able to photograph this one last month in the Centennial Valley. This bird may still be hanging around in the same area and I’ll definitely be looking for it or any other dark morph I might find. I think this color phase is striking and beautiful, especially with their wings up. The hawk has a piece of debris on the end of its right wing that would have been easy to clone out but I chose to leave it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/400, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon\u00a0EF500mm f\/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n My second target species for the trip is the Great Horned Owls on the farm. This is the breeding pair that has been resident on the farm for many years now. The larger female on the right has just landed next to her mate in an old granary cutout and she’s beginning to turn around to face the same direction he’s facing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/125, \u00a0f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon\u00a0EF500mm f\/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When I visit the farm I usually try to be there in June so I can see and photograph the youngsters before or soon after they fledge. This time I’m sure I’ll be late for that but I hope to find at least one young bird. I hear that one of the owls died this spring and I suspect it was one of the fledglings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon\u00a0EF500mm f\/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Here’s a slightly younger owl photographed as it warmed itself in the morning sun on the\u00a0east side of an old granary\u00a0on a cool Montana morning.<\/p>\n So those are my target species for this trip but I’ll be photographing other birds and wildlife too. One of the exciting things about these trips is that I just never know what I may find, especially in the Centennial Valley and surrounding area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s been several years since I visited the farm where I grew up and I’ve missed it. A lot. I’ll not only be able to revisit my old haunts but I’ll be spending time with cousins that I’ve been very close to my entire life – one of them lives on the farm. There’s a variety of raptor species in the area\u00a0and I’m anxious to have a go at all of them and Glacier National Park is nearby\u00a0so I hope to have the time for a visit.<\/p>\n The vistas, sunrises and sunsets on the farm\u00a0are spectacular. This shot is of a sunrise on the farm a few years ago, looking over some old granaries, vehicles and farm equipment on top of a hill. There’s been no color enhancement to the image and I’ve deliberately posted it larger than most images in my blog.<\/p>\n Throw in old high school friends I haven’t seen for many years and it should be a very interesting trip.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I embark on another Montana camping trip but this one’s going to be a little (a lot!) different in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n![\"great](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/great-horned-owl-1717-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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