The Swainson’s Hawk And The Vole

Sometimes even small prey doesn’t give up without a fight.

 

swainson's hawk 9290 ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I photographed this adult intermediate morph Swainson’s Hawk three days ago in northern Utah. It was hunting voles from a fence line in early morning. Typically it would take off after prey and then return to the fence posts empty-taloned but this time it was successful. I was only able to get one sharp shot as it returned with the rodent because of posts and poles between me and the bird. Here we see the vole and plant debris in the left foot.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9298 ron dudley

1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

It landed on this post and for the first while after landing it almost seemed to ignore the vole but suddenly the hawk flinched…

 

 

swainson's hawk 9299 ron dudley

1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

and raised its wings and left foot to inspect the apparently still living vole…

 

 

swainson's hawk 9300 ron dudley

1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

and then actually jumped in the air as if surprised by something the vole had done. I believe the vole had actually bitten one of the hawk’s toes.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9307 ron dudley

1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

In response the hawk immediately administered the coup de grâce by biting down hard on the vole.

Fair warning – one of the two following images is quite graphic. If you prefer to avoid that kind of image please scroll no further.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9354 ron dudley

1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

It only took a few seconds for the hawk to consume the vole in pieces.

Second warning about the following graphic image. Please, no complaints about it – you have been twice warned.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9380 ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

The hawk very skillfully pulled the muscles and internal organs out of the skin as if it was pulling a sock off of a foot inside out and then swallowed them whole. I thought it might then discard the hide of the vole but it swallowed that part separately.

After the vole had been consumed the bird stayed on the post and cleaned up after its meal.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9502 ron dudley

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in

At this point I removed my teleconverter and waited for eventual takeoff but soon I could hear a large vehicle approaching fast from the east on the remote road . I figured the truck would probably spook the hawk but the problem was that the truck would pass between me and the bird. So I pre-focused on the hawk and removed my thumb from the focusing button (I use back button focus and didn’t want the autofocus to grab the truck) in the theory that I might get lucky and get a shot of the hawk lifting off in the split second before or after the truck passed.

Here the bird is tensely watching the loud, fast-moving truck as it approached from the left. At this point I was firing off a burst (10 images per second) in hopes of getting something interesting.

 

 

swainson's hawk 9503 ron dudley

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in

This is the last shot I got before the truck came between me and the bird.

 

 

damned truck 9504 ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM – just in case you wanted to know…

And this is the passing truck (bet you thought you’d never see an image like this on Feathered Photography but I couldn’t resist…). In the first image after the truck passed all I got of the hawk was a few tail feathers at the upper left corner of the frame as it skedaddled from the post. As I often say, bird photography isn’t easy.

In the last week or so I’ve been seeing a lot of Swainson’s Hawks after a long winter without them. It’s so very nice to have them back!

Ron

 

 

36 Comments

  1. Saved your post for lunch-time reading today- thanks for a beautiful series and a good laugh! Can’t wait to see Patty’s painting!

  2. Sharonj Constant

    Gorgeous photos and bird! And, it was a fun (notwithstanding graphic) post!

  3. Prey bites on raptor toes do happen, sometimes – and can lead to serious infections. Young birds have to learn to administer that coup de grace quickly – a win-win for toe safety and also the humaneness of the kill. Can’t blame the vole for wanting to fight back!

  4. I LOVE this series (yeah, I’m easy…you KNEW that!) Voles aren’t anywhere near as easy as one might think. I learned a lot about them this year, and Jack (HAHA) changed from carrying them off to eating them on the ground immediately after the catch using the very effective off-with-their-head method. Since I didn’t bother to trade him after his kill, he really enjoyed hunting the voles.
    It’s also not unusual that they’ll turn critters inside out as they’re eating. And with things like voles, few raptors will bother to remove the hair/skin. There’s no real point in it since their first objective is to consume the critter as rapidly as possible so that somebody else doesn’t come in to steal it.
    There will soon be hatchlings at the Cornell nest (probably today for the first hatch) and Ezra will most certainly provide a larder of food for the little ones so that there’s variety in their diet from day one.
    I love your blog…just sayin’ (yet again)! Thank you!

    • Laura, I wondered if the reason the hawk eviscerated (sort of) the vole and swallowed it in 3 major pieces was because it was just a bit too large to swallow whole comfortably. But that’s nothing more than speculation.

      • Ron, if necessary, they’ll swallow it whole, but since there was no immediate threat, they had time to be a little more dainty in their table manners. I’m pretty sure a Swainson’s could easily swallow that whole, but the off-with-their-head strategy is the norm, I THINK.

  5. Stunning action shots! I always assumed the hawk left the skin for some critter to use as nesting material. Wonder why they bother to separate it. Don’t you wish all vehicles would stay home when you are photographing! When I am shooting from the window, the truck usually stops right in front of the camera and the driver wants to know if I need help. While I appreciate it, I am always tempted to say, “Yes. There is a huge vehicle blocking my camera. Can you help?” Have fun while this gorgeous weather lasts!

    • That made me laugh, Jane.

      “Don’t you wish all vehicles would stay home when you are photographing” – I most certainly DO! Just this morning other vehicles interfered with several opportunities with birds. Don’t those folks know that those roads were built for my use and no other! 🙂

  6. Great action shots!! Those are pictures I’m not going to see unless through the lens of a camera!!!
    Love them all!!

  7. Just reminds me of overweight people eating highly caloric foods walking around an art show…. maybe I should post it. Just joking, great images as always.

  8. Although this is a wonderful series (and I still feel sorry for the vole), my favorite, by far is the last…I especially like the intensity of the colors, how they are echoed in the background, the bright, crisp detail, the sense of intense focus and purpose, and the implication of speed. I would really appreciate your permission to do a watercolor of this incredible image. Once completed, would it be OK to post it on your blog for sale? I could use the money….Thanks, Patty

  9. Great series Ron! I’m glad your sense of humor remained!
    What a visual lesson, truly educational and entertaining. I bet you’re right that the vole bit the hawks toe – his/her last chance before the end.
    Thanks for sharing.

  10. Chaelotte Norton

    Sensational amazing series Ron!

    Charlotte

  11. Excellent, Ron
    Great images, wonderful story line, but the “no copyright, steal it if you like”at the bottom pushed the coffee into my sinuses. LMAO!

  12. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see this adventure, and I’m glad I wasn’t the vole! Fascinating evisceration, and lovely ‘color bands’ of your ‘truck study…’ 🙂

  13. Great shots (except for the truck)! 🙂 We have some robin sized hawk around that took a robin a couple of days ago (thot it was a breeding pair initially)partially drowning it in a puddle. Saw another yesterday on a power line with what appeared to be a vole – ferocious little thing for sure! Size doesn’t seem to matter. 🙂

  14. Outstanding images, Ron. What a great series. Once again you provided information that gave me a chuckle with that last photo. You’re right, I didn’t expect that on your site. Then I noticed the inscription at bottom right and had a good laugh out loud. Thanks.

  15. Stellar photos and story. I feel like I was there. Outstanding Ron!!

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