The Grayest Swainson’s Hawk I’ve Seen

Yesterday this beautiful and unusually colored Swainson’s Hawk finally broke my string of bad luck on our Montana camping trip.

 

swainson's hawk 4510

 1/800, f/6.3, ISO 1000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon  EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in

The bird was perched slightly below me and right on the edge of the road (the road edge is about 1 inch below the bottom of the frame) as I drove by on a gravel road in the Centennial Valley and it didn’t even flinch so I backed up a few feet and fired off a few shots. I think it’s a beautiful specimen and I like the setting, with the exception of the bright spot on the perch.

I’m no raptor expert but I’ve seen a lot of Swainson’s Hawks of all three color phases (morphs) and I’ve never seen one this gray. The light was low when I took the shot and perhaps that had something to do with it but it looked the same color to the naked eye.

I have no confidence in how this image looks because it was processed on my laptop. I guess I’ll find out when I get home.

Ron

30 Comments

  1. Patty Chadwick

    Dear Photo Cougars,
    Thanks for the great suggestions…in the mean time, as Jean suggested, let’s put on our dark glasses as well as our thinking caps, so we don’t end up blinded by the glare!

  2. Humming Bird Lover

    Hi! Great work! What a beautiful Bird and your lighting and colors are well done! Have a special day shooting1

  3. I’m glad you noticed the Hawk. It is beautiful!!

  4. Patty Chadwick

    Where the heck is that bird’s legs??? They can’t possibly be that short!!! I’m going to call “him” Too Loose La Trec”

  5. Patty Chadwick

    OK! LADIES!!!! LET’S GET HIM!!!! (The only problem is….how do we keep the good comments coming and stifle the nit picking at the same time…it’s a puzzlement!!! Ellie Baby??? Rocky???)….

    • Maybe, just maybe, every time he descends to nit-picking and self criticism, we post two comments. One (in caps) telling him to back off, and our usual totally deserved praise.

    • How about if we just continue to be our usual sweet, wonderful selves??? 🙂

      • I was going to say, “beautiful pic Ron, but I had to put my sunglasses on due to the glare of the rock”,then I had a moment of compassion for Ron and reconsidered hehe.

  6. Charlotte Norton

    Magnificent shot Ron!
    Charlotte

  7. Ha, I see I’m taking some flack for being too picky. That’s okay, but dangit I just don’t like bright perches.To each his own I guess… Thank you all!

  8. Ron you are a picker of nits. Invisible nits.
    And your nitpickery makes me wonder whether I am looking at the same image, or whether my eyes are worse than I thought.
    This is a stunning bird, and the perch is fine. More than fine. Natural and beautiful, imperfections and all.

  9. HI Ron
    I work at the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene and one of our residents is a dark-morph Swainson’s
    who has this coloration almost exactly. I can email a photo of him if you want.
    I so adore Swainson’s!

  10. Patty Chadwick

    …..And one more thing….I am NOT trying to make you “feel good”. I just want you to stop playing “spoiler” to the images I enjoy…..Stick with the comments (and techy stuff) and STOP THE SELF BULLYING”, already…Some of your self-criticisms genuinely help others be better photographers, but some of it seems like a case of OCD…

  11. Patty Chadwick

    More from me…sorry! Can’t help myself…this bird is so gorgeous and the detail is so sharp! Love the detail of the teeny, tiny, white breast feathers swept back over the dark wings…Everything, including the subtle colors and patterns of the background, are so perfect…and, yes, that includes the light spot…..

  12. Patty Chadwick

    PS Your message to Jorge (who is also very self-critical although he does BEAUTIFUL photography) is….HORRORS! IMPERFECT!!! You said “feedback” TWICE!!! OMG!!!!!

  13. Patty Chadwick

    Just revisited, as usual, and what you see as a negative, Insee as a positive…for two reaons…One, the lighter (“bright”) spot gives a subtle balance to the bulk of the bird, and two, it probably bounces some nice light onto the bitd, enhancing color and detail… ( I wonder if you’ve gotten the message yet….I can hope, but wouldn’t bet the farm)….

  14. I’ve never seen a Swainson’s Hawk so can’t comment on what might not be normal for this bird. The photograph is exquisite! I’m with you about the background, totally compliments the bird’s plumage.

    Hope your trip is and has been full of good things.

  15. What a gorgeous bird–I’m happy for you that you got this reward , at least, on this trip—may you receive more !

  16. Patty Chadwick

    RIGHT ON SUSAN!!! When you point out what you consider “imperfections”, I see then them, too. Sometimes I wish you had separate, parallel blogs…one for the “techies”, pointing out every picky point , and one for us more oblivious appreciators–who just want enjoy your beautiful images and interesting comments…we don’t want to be drawn to the negative….nothing’s perfect… your photography comes pretty close…IF you were “perfect” , we probably wouldn’t even like you!!! We’d feel so inferior we couldn’t stand you! As for imperfection, at first glance, before reading any text, my imperfect eyes thought I was looking at a …..pidgeon!!!

  17. Ron, I didn’t even see the perch as I was transfixed by your image of the hawk. I can even see the pattern on the breast feathers. Wonder full. Thanks for posting this, my morning lift again.

  18. Sharon Constant

    The image and bird are exquisite. I read Susan’s comment and that was my first reaction to you mentioning the bright spot on the perch, but a moment later I found myself thinking that perhaps I need to be more critical with my own work if I am ever to get much better. My attention was not drawn to the spot at all. My eye moved through the composition from the bird’s head to feet, across the perch and over to the grasses and back to the bird’s eye again. I thought it made for a beautifully balanced image. Thanks and wish you all the luck on your trip.

  19. I agree with all previous WOW’s and comments!!
    When I see the unusual like this bird, I always have a desire to want to study the bird!
    Such a great and good looking shot of a superb specimen.

  20. This is one gorgeous bird! I wish you’d quit mentioning bright spots on the perches – I tend to not see them until you mention them. 🙂

  21. Claudia (Jones) Elton

    Beautiful is all that I can say. That is one gorgeous bird! We see them around our place often. I really enjoy watching them.
    Have a great day.

  22. Thanks for the feedback for the feedback Jorge. Its reassuring to know that the image looks ok.

  23. Jorge H. Oliveira

    WOW what a beautiful bird I have never seen one like this before and the image is fine,do not worry.
    I am glad that your luck is changing for the better.
    Wish you well.

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