![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-4323-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-4323-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nPlus an exciting and incredibly frustrating experience with an adult Bald Eagle yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
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1\/1250, f\/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Four months ago in the Wasatch Mountains this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk captured a vole and then returned to this post to enjoy “his” meal. The post was in deep shade from a nearby mountain so in order to have sufficient shutter speed I really had to crank up my ISO.<\/p>\n Here he was about to swallow the last remnants of the vole he’d already been working on for some time. His dining technique was an interesting one. He opened the vole, discarded the intestines and then pulled the rest of the carcass out of the hide (skin and fur) in a process that turned the hide inside out. After swallowing the meat and bones this is all that was left and he swallowed that too.<\/p>\n I took many photos during the process but I’ll spare my readers most of the grisly photo evidence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As my blog readers know this winter has been a brutal one for bird photography around here because of persistent thick cloud cover and poor light. So yesterday when we finally had some light around noon I headed for some local ponds to see if I could find a cooperative bird or two. While I was driving from one location to another all hell broke loose almost directly above my pickup.<\/p>\n An adult Bald Eagle came from out of nowhere and flew above and very close to my pickup as it was being pursued by an angry Red-tailed Hawk hot on its tail. I’ll never forget the eagle’s frustrated screaming with both birds so close. The hawk was extremely aggressive, coming within just a few feet of the eagle but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do with my camera because I was driving on a city road.<\/p>\n I pulled over to try to take a few shots of them fighting but by then they were out of range.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The eagle eventually took refuge from the hawk in a faraway tree across the river so I drove a circuitous route on city streets to get as close as I could. But the eagle was buried in the tree and reluctant to come out and face that pissed off red-tail again.<\/p>\n I’m almost embarrassed to post this shot. It’s so bad I don’t even care that I cut off the eagle’s tail. Hell, I didn’t even add my copyright watermark but it’s evidence of my frustrating experience with the eagle so I’m posting it anyway.<\/p>\n This photo was taken only about a half mile from my home and there’s a very good chance that the eagle is the same bird that roosted in the huge elm tree in my yard (the tree I took out last spring) in January for many years.<\/p>\n Assuming it’s the same bird I would dearly love to have renewed our acquaintance!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plus an exciting and incredibly frustrating experience with an adult Bald Eagle yesterday morning.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/bald-eagle-8109-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"bald-eagle-8109-ron-dudley\\"")
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