Ferruginous Hawks of Utah’s West Desert
The Ferruginous Hawk is a strikingly handsome raptor with its stocky build, white underparts and rufous coloration. It is the largest North American hawk and has several distinctive features including the fact that its legs are feathered all the way down to the feet. The Rough-legged Hawk is the only other hawk on this continent to share this trait. I’ve had a devil of a time getting many photos of this species that I like. For me they’ve been difficult to find in the first place and then there’s the issue of getting near enough to them for quality images as they generally don’t allow a close approach. My best luck with the species has been in the foothills of Utah’s west desert mountain ranges. 1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this bird earlier this week and spent quite a while “sneaking” up on it very slowly in my pickup. I ended up getting reasonably close before it flew off. The hawk is relaxed enough with me in its presence to perform a nice wing stretch. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds tend to hunt high off the ground and no matter how slowly I try to approach them while they’re in the air they usually maintain a minimum distance from my truck that is too far away for good photographs. Very occasionally however one will apparently become curious about me and fly in close – always with its eye on me and not on any potential prey on the ground. …