{"id":39674,"date":"2016-05-21T05:46:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-21T11:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=39674"},"modified":"2016-05-21T08:47:34","modified_gmt":"2016-05-21T14:47:34","slug":"red-tailed-hawk-in-flight-with-nesting-material","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/21\/red-tailed-hawk-in-flight-with-nesting-material\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-tailed Hawk In Flight With Nesting Material"},"content":{"rendered":"

I seldom photograph raptors with nesting material because I won’t closely approach their nests.<\/p>\n

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\"red-tailed<\/p>\n

1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But I got lucky with this female Red-tailed Hawk a month ago in Box Elder County.\u00a0She would fly in with nesting material in her talons\u00a0and land next to\u00a0her mate who was perched on the top of a high\u00a0cliff. After resting there\u00a0next to the male for a short period she would transfer the stick to her beak and then take off for the rest of the journey to the nest. Here she’s kiting in the updrafts off the cliff just after takeoff.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0posted a similar image of her a few weeks ago but in that shot the\u00a0underside of\u00a0her right wing was\u00a0shaded and there’s nothing but blue sky in the background. Here there’s some light under that wing and there\u00a0are grasses\u00a0growing on the top of\u00a0the cliff in the lower right corner. To me those grasses are a positive addition to the image because they help to ground the hawk and give some context to the image. But opinions on that grass may vary…<\/p>\n

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\"red-tailed<\/p>\n

1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And though this image is very similar to the previous one there are some subtle differences in light under both the right wing and the tail.<\/p>\n

I prefer good light on the ventral surfaces of\u00a0birds flying above me which is one of the reasons\u00a0I typically photograph\u00a0them in the early morning with the sun low in the sky. There are other reasons including:<\/p>\n