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<\/p>\nYou know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men… and bird photographers.<\/p>\n
I’ve mentioned before the huge advantage to the bird photographer if he\/she can anticipate direction of takeoff of raptors when we’re after takeoff or flight shots. Some of the most dynamic flight postures occur during and soon after launch but the danger is clipping or cutting off body parts when they extend those huge wings. If we can correctly anticipate their initial direction of travel it’s much easier to\u00a0keep\u00a0them in frame\u00a0with\u00a0our long\u00a0lenses.<\/p>\n
I work hard at analyzing the situation and reading behaviors and I think I’m pretty good at anticipating takeoff direction. Usually. But\u00a0eleven days ago this Rough-legged Hawk threw me a dandy of a curve ball.<\/p>\n
I don’t know the sex of this bird for sure\u00a0but for the sake of convenience I’ll refer to it as a male in this post.<\/p>\n
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As the bird sat on a power pole these were the possibilities I quickly thought of:<\/p>\n
The following 16 photos were taken in a single burst that lasted for 1.6 seconds. All images are presented in the order they were taken and there are no skips. Because some of them are almost exactly like their predecessors you might wonder why I included them but I thought there was value in seeing the entire sequence for the sense of time and timing it provides.<\/p>\n
Ok, enough jabbering. Let’s do it.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5218-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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My first shot as the bird lifted its wings and leaned forward. At this point I was getting slightly conflicting cues – his body angle suggests he’ll take off forward and to my left but he’s looking slightly to my right. And almost immediately he…<\/p>\n
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changed his mind and put on the brakes by raising his fanned tail vertically. But by now he was…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5220-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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so far forward on the perch that he…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5221-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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almost fell off.<\/p>\n
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I don’t know why he changed his mind…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5223-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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but he held this position…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5224-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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for a few very quick moments…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5225-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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as he regained his balance.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5226-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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He never took his eyes off my pickup so my presence apparently figured into the equation…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5227-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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of what direction he’d finally take off.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5228-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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As he began to raise his wings to launch he blinked his nictitating membrane.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5229-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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At this point it looked once again like he’d launch forward and to my left and I instinctively began to move my lens in that direction in order to keep him in frame. But then came the fake-out.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5230-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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Uh-oh, I’m in trouble. At the last possible split-second he twisted and\u00a0began to look above the wire and insulator on his right – my first clue to another change in plans.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5231-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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I had no time to react as he launched almost straight up…<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5232-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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and began to clear the wire and insulator.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rough-legged-hawk-5233-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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As you can see it took a lot of extra\u00a0effort to get over the wire but he made it and was gone – foiling the best laid plans of this photographer in the process.<\/p>\n
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In my experience this was a pretty unusual takeoff. Not only did the hawk change his mind at least twice but he took off vertically over an obstacle that\u00a0he didn’t really have to negotiate.<\/p>\n
I wish I knew the thought process involved. But whatever it was this is an example of one of the many reasons\u00a0why bird photography can be so challenging. And so rewarding when we do succeed.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men… and bird photographers.<\/p>\n