![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-6778-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nToday I present some older Red-tailed Hawk images I haven’t posted previously (though I have posted other\u00a0photos of some of\u00a0these birds).<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I found this one in Farmington in September of last year. The bird had a freshly-caught vole in its left foot\u00a0and when this image was taken I believe it was trying to decide whether to eat the rodent on this post or flee with it to a higher, safer perch. I like the resulting defiant look. The spotted background is due to dark phragmites seed heads. The already bulging crop indicates that the bird had recently fed but in the end the hawk consumed the vole right where it was and it did so with gusto. I’ll spare you the gory details in other photos.<\/p>\n Each of the following\u00a0images was taken on Antelope Island on different days\u00a0in late summer of 2012.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This image may not appeal to some because the hawk doesn’t stand out\u00a0particularly well against the rocky cliff background (in retrospect I wish I’d been at f\/6.3…)\u00a0but I like it because it tells the story of this bird’s preferred hunting technique so well. Time and again it would perch at the top of these rocks and cliffs and scan the open\u00a0prairie grasses\u00a0below for voles.\u00a0When it spotted something it would typically jump off the rocks\u00a0and perform a long, steep\u00a0glide toward the prey, which is what it is doing here. The fanned and lowered tail helps to tell that story as does the focus of the bird’s eyes on the potential prey.<\/p>\n I can’t remember if any prey was caught on this attempt but probably not. This\u00a0juvenile was an obviously inexperienced hunter and most of\u00a0the attempts it made were failures.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Regular readers of my blog know that I hate it when I clip wings in my images but I like this\u00a0shot despite the double-clip. Most of the bird is very sharp (at least the parts we can see) and I like the good look at the extended legs and talons and the nice light on the head. The hawk is well isolated from the background and I think the habitat adds a lot.<\/p>\n Lately I’ve been posting more older images than usual and there are good reasons for that – among them the fact that we’re in a weather pattern that consistently delivers\u00a0dreary, cloudy mornings and that trend is\u00a0forecast to continue\u00a0for the foreseeable future. Throw in a plumbing fiasco\u00a0in my home that occupied most of my time for two entire days and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to\u00a0go shooting in good light.<\/p>\n Hopefully there’ll be a morning “sucker hole” in the clouds soon and I’ll be able to scratch my bird photography itch once again. It had best happen soon though because I already have cabin fever.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I present some older Red-tailed Hawk images I haven’t posted previously.<\/p>\n![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-7881b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-0883-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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