I’m tuckered.
Yesterday’s blog post about a mated (and mating) pair of Red-tailed Hawks was an incredible amount of work over two days and I’m still feeling the effects. So I’m keeping today’s edition of Feathered Photography relatively short and simple.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I’ve seen and photographed fewer Rough-legged Hawks than usual this winter so when I found this one eight days ago I was more than pleased to get her in my viewfinder, if only for a couple of seconds. Almost immediately after this photo was taken she disdainfully turned her back to me and…
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
took off at a less than desirable angle. Check out all those wrinkles in the primaries of her left wing. I don’t see this many feather wrinkles this well very often.
I strongly suspect she was the last Roughie I’ll see this season. She was the only one I found that morning (usually I see as many as a half dozen in that area) and on my last trip up there three days ago I didn’t find a single one. It’s likely that I won’t see my next Roughie until sometime next fall.
At this point all I can do is wish them a highly successful breeding season in arctic and subarctic Alaska and Canada.
Ron
Super shots!
Charlotte Norton
The Best Pantaloon Shot!
😊
Catch light, alula, feather wrinkles, pantaloons!, and fluff-butt — I say she hung around to say good-bye to you and to show you all her best stuff before heading north. Hope she has lots of pretty hawklets that look just like her. ❤️
And that you have many more restful naps. 🙂
Thanks, Marty. I’ll admit, I had another one (nap). I was pooped.
I am a great believer in naps! And that naps, like youth, are wasted on the young. 😉😹
Her colors are beautiful, those greys and tans. And what a treat we’ve had the past few days with the rocks, all those lovely oranges, yellows, whites, and the blue sky. Better than any home-decorating magazine!
Thank you for all your hard work bringing us this beauty.
Thanks for mentioning the rocks and lichens, Carolyn. That’s one of my favorite things about photographing in that area.
She’s a beautiful raptor, right down to her wrinkles! (golly, mine should look so good! but they don’t…) And those pantaloons—she’s showing them off to great effect! So thank you for both images and for all you do on FP to bring us the best of the wild world, in both photography and information. ♥️
Thank you, Chris. Mine don’t either. And they’re getting worse.
Hooray for naps. Thank you (so much) for the work you do in sharing these beauties. I did (of course) also notice those beautiful britches…
I figured you’d notice them, EC. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.
Thank you, for yesterdays photos. I always wondered how things happened and now I know. It is a miracle to have seen the process. (using process for lack of a better word) There are better words but I guess I am being delicate?? I sound goofy, I’ll just stop.
Have a restful day and Take Care,
Kaye
Kaye, process is a perfectly appropriate word for it. Thanks.
I hear you about the ‘work’ of sifting, culling and processing but selfishly I am grateful that you had the stamina to manage it because without your perseverance I would never have seen the feather wrinkles and that is quite a sight. Hoping you get some much needed rest now.
Just got up from a nap, Granny Pat. It helped.
Los pantalones son muy impresivo. Muchas gracias por las hermosas fotografías
Glad you like them, Lyle.
Joining Michael with his last couple sentences. From a guy who just takes photos with a non DSLR bridge camera I am awed by where photographers like you are and realize what a huge amount of work and relentless practice it takes to get there. Outstanding lift off shot of a beautiful bird. The head turn left just enough for you to get a catch-eye. Love it.
Glad you noticed the catch light, Everett. I sure did, even in a photo like that one.
Beautiful “Roughy” and the feather wrinkles are a bonus. Feathers are so incredibly tough and yet fragile! They do have limited seasons here.
A well deserved break after the work put into the Red-tailed hawks of the past few days. Digital photography has the advantage of a ton of photos until one has to sort them! 😉
“A well deserved break”
Judy, I must have talked myself into taking full advantage of it. I just got up from an early morning nap.
It may be a less than desirable angle on that takeoff photo, but I always appreciate your photos of the fully extended wing. When a bird like this is perched, folks that are simply equipped with a scope or binoculars can sit and examine what can be seen for a period of time. But when it takes off, there is only a second or less to take in what you so beautifully and clearly capture in your photos. Your photos allow us “bird nerds” an opportunity to take it all in. I will add that no field guide can stack up to your work. And I do mean ‘work’. As one who has dabbled in DSLR photography I have a glimpse into what it takes to deliver these goods in the way that you do. Much gratitude to you.
Thanks very much, Michael. For all that you said.
I did not know about wrinkles in the feather and searched but was unsuccessful. Are the wrinkles just due to the stress on the feather during that flight situation? Or some damage to the feathers? Very interesting to see them show up in the photo. Learning more every day.
Duane, it’s just feather stress from air pressure. I see it fairly often but usually not this well on this many primaries.