![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-8051b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-8051b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nIf you’re getting tired of photos of the rufous red-tail please bear with me. These photos were taken yesterday morning and one of them is among my favorites.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I had a pretty good chance to get good shots that included both the rufous female and her mate in the same photos but as fate would have it the male was directly behind the female while they were perched on these rocks so he was mostly hidden.<\/p>\n And then when he took off I cut off his left wing which really disappointed me. They were on the side of a steep hill so I anticipated that he would use his elevation to his advantage and take off downhill but instead he immediately gained elevation after launch which caused me to butcher his wing. Birds can be uncooperative that way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/p>\n But thankfully when his rufous mate took off five minutes later I didn’t botch the job because I really like this shot. She gave me an excellent head turn with eye contact, her tipped body angle allows a great look at both wings, we can see her red tail held almost vertically, I like her stiff-legged push-off and the light angle was perfect.<\/p>\n I’ll admit to having a few mixed feelings about the background. With the mix of sagebrush, lichen-covered rocks and blue sky it’s one of my favorite settings but it’s also a little busy. But it’s natural and in most ways I love it. For me it reeks of the west and that’s a good thing.<\/p>\n I got a few other shots of her in flight after she took off but this one is my favorite of the series.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you’re getting tired of photos of the rufous red-tail please bear with me. These photos were taken yesterday morning and one of them is among my favorites.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-8070b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-8070b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n