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<\/p>\nYou just never know what might happen when you have your lens trained on a hunting harrier (hint –\u00a0few raptors can jink like a harrier can jink…).<\/p>\n
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1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I had some pretty good looks at this hunting\u00a0Northern Harrier\u00a0but by the time I got my pickup stopped, my lens raised\u00a0and the bird in focus it had veered away from me at an angle that shaded most of its body. By then I figured all was lost but for some reason I kept my lens on the hawk and took a few shots anyway (I only include this one here to demonstrate how quickly and unexpectedly things can change with harriers).<\/p>\n Immediately after this photo was taken the harrier spotted (or heard) prey,\u00a0most likely a vole,\u00a0in the vegetation below and performed one of those patented hunting maneuvers that only harriers can do anywhere near as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/8000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n At lightning speed the\u00a0bird jinked in the air and twisted its body completely around as it began\u00a0its dive on\u00a0prey. I instinctively fired a quick burst and caught the bird in a flight posture I’ve always lusted after\u00a0from a harrier – with the bird perfectly vertical to me, its\u00a0wings fully extended and its\u00a0tail widely\u00a0flared. I love this topside view of the hawk and I don’t remember ever seeing a better look at the entire\u00a0dorsal plumage of a\u00a0harrier in flight in a single photo\u00a0so I was thrilled to get it despite the fact that we can’t see much of the eye.<\/p>\n Notice that in this flight\u00a0situation only the alula on the\u00a0right wing is extended.<\/p>\n When I first saw this shot I wished I’d been just\u00a0a little closer to the bird\u00a0for even better detail but if I had been I’d most likely have clipped a wing. I came close to clipping the right wing as it was (in these situations a little\u00a0wiggle room is generally\u00a0a good thing).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/8000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n In the next\u00a0shot I\u00a0caught the bird near the end of its short\u00a0dive but it was barely in frame. Despite the obvious imperfections of the photo I still like to admire this dynamic\u00a0diving posture with the asymmetrical wings, twisted body,\u00a0skewed tail and both\u00a0feet and head extended downward\u00a0toward the prey they’re rapidly approaching in classic harrier style. I sure\u00a0wouldn’t want to be a vole in this situation.<\/p>\n Sadly the harrier missed the\u00a0vole but it wasn’t for lack of\u00a0 trying.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/northern-harrier-9215c-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"northern-harrier-9215c-ron-dudley\\"")
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