![\"rougn-legged-hawk-0238-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/rougn-legged-hawk-0238-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI probably look forward to the return of the Rough-legged Hawk more than I do any other migrating bird.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed this hawk at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge two days ago. It was one of five “Roughies” I\u00a0saw that morning and the only one I was able to get close to.\u00a0The bird\u00a0was on an\u00a0unnatural perch but it didn’t have a lot of choice\u00a0– there are very few trees on the refuge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The hawk was partially side-lit but despite the challenging light angle I was able to get decent light on the bird and even a catch light in the eye\u00a0in a few shots after it turned on\u00a0the perch. I was a little surprised by how much warmer the light appears to be in the first image as compared to the second (I made no color or tonal adjustments in either photo).<\/p>\n I’ve been anticipating the return of the Rough-legged Hawks for weeks now so photographing my first one of the season was pure delight, despite the unnatural perch.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – As an afterthought I thought local readers might appreciate a current report on the bird situation at the refuge. For photographers at least it’s very, very slow (though the numerous duck hunters may have a different perspective). In 2 1\/2 hours I only photographed two birds – this hawk and a merganser. All the ponds and canals have plenty of water in them but I suspect duck hunters may have spooked many of the birds into cover. Even the middle of the\u00a0large ponds were\u00a0almost completely\u00a0lacking in birds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n One potential bright spot is the Red-breasted Mergansers. There were lots of them in the canals\u00a0even though they were extremely skittish. I barely got my lens trained on this\u00a0one before it and its buddies spooked. This is the first wing beat and running step as the bird began its takeoff.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The next photo in the burst caught the wings in almost exactly the same position as in the previous image. Based on the burst rate of my camera this tells me that a full wing beat cycle takes\u00a01\/10 of a second. And based on the number of\u00a0water splashes I also surmise that there are\u00a0about 3 running steps\u00a0for each wing cycle.<\/p>\n Useless and inconsequential information perhaps but knowing\u00a0stuff like that amuses me…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I probably look forward to the return of the Rough-legged Hawk more than I do any other migrating bird.<\/p>\n![\"rough-legged-hawk-0251-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/rough-legged-hawk-0251-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"red-breasted-merganser-0198-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-0198-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"red-breasted-merganser-0199-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/red-breasted-merganser-0199-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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