I’m of the opinion that nature photographers should occasionally test the limits of their gear and their skills. For me, attempting to photograph this hawk in flight in these conditions did just that.
It’s pretty unusual to be able to see prey in the talons with a topside view of a hawk in flight.
Eight days ago I photographed a Northern Harrier as it flew toward me at an angle and then banked away. The following day, because of time constraints and computer issues I posted only a single shot of the banking maneuver but now I wish I had posted the entire flight sequence of four images. With your indulgence for posting the same image twice I’ll do just that this morning.
Getting light in the eye of a Barn Owl in flight is often a challenge because of their deeply set eyes but when you throw in the dark foreboding skies of an approaching storm it becomes even more difficult.
Occasionally during take-off an American Kestrel will put on a show of its considerable acrobatic skills but it happens so fast with these little falcons that many of us don’t really appreciate the coordination and skill involved. Yesterday morning I got one shot that I think demonstrates it pretty well.
I hope you’ll forgive me back to back posts on the same species but there’s a shot that has eluded me for years and yesterday I finally got it.
The Northern Harrier is arguably my favorite subject and I tend to post images of them often. Their dramatic sexual dimorphism in plumage color almost makes it seem as if I’m photographing two different species when I compare adult males to females.
One of the reasons I like to see iridescence in Black-billed Magpies is that it brings out detail in those areas of the deep blacks where you normally don’t see any. Flight shots are inherently more difficult than static shots but ironically I find it easier to get the iridescence to show in flight than I do when they’re perched.
I have many images of Short-eared Owls carrying prey in their talons in flight but very few where they’re carrying the prey in their beak. This is one of them.
I sometimes see hawks buried so deeply in trees that I can’t help but wonder how they’re going to fly out without injury or at least feather damage. They occasionally appear to “think” about their escape route just before take-off, which implies “planning”. Some images I took yesterday brought the question to mind once again – are hawks capable of “planning”?
Ferruginous Hawks are our largest and most powerful buteo but they’re also secretive, wary of humans and often roost on the ground so they can be difficult to locate.
Magpies aren’t among the most glamorous of birds so they don’t get a lot of attention from photographers but I enjoy them for their fascinating behaviors, their gutsiness and their apparent intelligence. And if you want a particularly challenging photographic subject you can’t go wrong with the Black-billed Magpie.
I’ve been photographing Northern Harriers for years now and I still get a thrill whenever I can get close to one of these shy hawks. And if it’s an elusive adult male (the “Gray Ghost”), well that’s just icing on the cake.
