![\"swainson's](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/swainsons-hawk-5528-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nI photographed this light morph Swainson’s Hawk just over a month ago soon after it took off from a large rock in Box Elder County, Utah. A Bullock’s Oriole and a Northern Mockingbird had teamed up to harass the hawk while it was perched and I think the hawk had just had enough.<\/p>\n
Even though this molting\u00a0hawk has lost some flight feathers in both wings I like the flight posture and\u00a0the birds\u00a0look of determination as it begins to\u00a0gain altitude. But what really strikes me is the background. I enjoy the mix of colors in the entire image and I\u00a0like\u00a0the\u00a0combination of blue sky and\u00a0dried vegetation. And I think\u00a0the splash of out of focus sagebrush at lower left is a small but\u00a0nice touch.<\/p>\n
I seldom shoot birds in flight at ISO’s as low as this (320)\u00a0but I had plenty of light for this early in the morning (8:30) so I just went for it.<\/p>\n
Based on my observations this seems to have been a very\u00a0good year for Swainson’s Hawks in Utah, Idaho and Montana but we should enjoy them while we can because in a few weeks they’ll be gone for half the year.\u00a0After one of the more spectacular migrations in the bird world they’ll winter in the pampas of South America and those of us in North America won’t see them again until spring.<\/p>\n
I’ll miss them while they’re gone but at least I can look forward to Rough-legged Hawks migrating down from up north to replace them for the winter.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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For better or worse the background of an image can have a significant impact on an image. This is one that works well for me. <\/p>\n