rough legged hawk – Page 8 – Feathered Photography

Rough-legged Hawk Mantling, Then Take-off

My encounter with this Rough-legged Hawk was a frustrating one. It all began with a Northern Harrier on the snow-covered ground with prey (which turned out to be a Pied-billed Grebe) . It was quite far away, even if my tc had been attached (it wasn’t), so I put my pickup in gear to drive further down the road. Just then this hawk swooped in from behind (I couldn’t see it coming) to pilfer the prey from the harrier. By the time I got the pickup turned off and my tc attached the action between the two raptors was over – the harrier had vamoosed with the head of the grebe (based on the photos Mia was able to get) and the roughie was on the ground with what was left. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Here the hawk is “mantling” the grebe. Mantling is a behavior of raptors where they spread their wings, fan their tail and arch their body over their prey – effectively hiding it from other predators, particularly other raptors. In this image the tail isn’t completely fanned and the bird is looking back at us rather than arching its body. There’s a patch of blood on the snow and you can see part of the grebe under the right wing. 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in The hawk quickly gobbled down what was left of the grebe, inspected the…

Rough-legged Hawk “Playing”

This post is about behavior. Please don’t expect high quality images… Last March I found this juvenile (I believe) Rough-legged Hawk along the Antelope Island causeway on a cold morning after a light snowfall. It was perched on a windrow of debris consisting mostly of piles of old brine fly pupae casings. For a while the bird seemed content to simply rest and watch me. But soon it apparently got bored… and walked about two feet to my right to investigate a clump of fly casings (red arrow) that had been cemented together by melting snow that had re-frozen during the night. The hawk reached over to grasp the clump with its talons… retrieved the clump,… transferred it to its beak and then instantly tossed it to the ground. I assumed that was that, figuring the bird had thought it might be something edible, then discarded it for good when it wasn’t. But that wasn’t what happened. The hawk grabbed the clump with its talons once again… and then seemed to contemplate for a few seconds about just what to do next. Which turned out to be something like “give the clump a toss and see where it lands”. The hawk immediately started walking over to where the clump had landed behind the mound of fly casings, where it can’t be seen in this image. It used its wings for a little more stability as it negotiated the hill of debris. …

The Return Of The Rough-legged Hawks

One of the most pleasant harbingers of winter for me is always the return of the Rough-legged Hawks. This species breeds in high subarctic and arctic regions so we don’t see them from about March through October but they usually winter around here in good numbers and I love to photograph this handsome buteo. There’s been a few “roughies” on Antelope Island for a couple of weeks now but this morning was the first time this year I’ve been able to get close enough for good photos. This bird chose to perch on the same dark rocks that I’ve been photographing Red-tailed Hawks on. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in (same techs for all the images in this post) I wasn’t quite as close as I’d have liked to have been for perched shots so I waited for take-off. And waited. And waited. Almost went to sleep… Finally, a couple of men on horseback were riding the trail behind the rock in the background and I figured they’d spook the bird. They did. At least I didn’t miss the moment of take-off, which is so easy to do when you have to wait for it for so long. I got five sharp shots after take-off and something unusual happened with each of them. Normally, you’re lucky to get one image with the bird looking directly at you. Usually, they’re looking in the direction of flight but for some…

Anticipating The Return Of Rough-legged Hawks

Rough-legged Hawks are a true arctic species, spending about 7 months of the year on their breeding grounds in the arctic or sub-arctic tundra or taiga of Alaska or Canada. Then they migrate south and winter in most of the lower 48 states, with the exception of the SE region and parts of California and Arizona. I love it when they’re here as I find them to be exceedingly handsome birds and I really enjoy photographing them. And yes, I’m already looking forward to their return. Every time I’m in their favorite haunts I can’t help looking for them on some of their preferred perches, even this time of year. So, feeling a little nostalgic for them on a Saturday night, I thought I’d do a post on the species. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Normally I’m not terribly fond of the Tintic Quartzite rocks on Antelope Island as perches because they’re so bright that they tend to blow out the whites but as you can see by the shadows the sun was still very low when this shot was taken so I got pretty good detail on most of the perch. And besides, I like the rounded, weathered look of this particular boulder. I do wish the out of focus sunflower heads in the foreground weren’t there but for me they’re not an image killer. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This is one of…

Rough-legged Hawk Hunting Voles

Out of pure habit I still look for Rough-legged Hawks whenever I pass one of their favorite perches, despite the fact that they’re now on their arctic and subarctic breeding grounds in northern Alaska and Canada. Last winter it seemed that these hawks were everywhere in northern Utah and it wasn’t unusual for me to see a dozen or more different birds in a morning of shooting. They’re a particularly handsome raptor and I love photographing them. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this one hunting voles along the Antelope Island causeway this past December. A moderate headwind slowed the bird down and made getting flight shots a little easier. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc When hunting they’re usually looking down which makes it difficult to get eye contact but occasionally you can catch them looking at you if you’re quick on the trigger. Here the wings are mostly horizontal but for me the tilt of the tail helps to compensate for that. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This eye/head angle is more typical of a hunting bird. The position of the left wing probably won’t appeal to many but there’s something about the curves of both wings that I liked. The sky color may seem a little funky but that’s the color it really was so I didn’t play with it. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Here the hawk has captured a baby vole. This surprised me a little…

Rough-legged Hawk on Tamarisk

I’ve said before that for me the Rough-legged Hawk is among the most handsome of North American raptors. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this bird perched on some tamarisk just below an elevated road on Antelope Island and was able to get some shots I like as it lifted off. I’ve posted another image of the sequence here. In late April of this year state park personnel cut down the stand of tamarisk. I fully understand the need to get rid of them because tamarisk is an invasive plant that is widely believed to degrade native wildlife habitat and disrupt the structure and stability of North American native plant communities. That said I will miss them as there aren’t many elevated and attractive natural perches on the island. Ron

Just A Shot That I Like… #26 – Rough-legged Hawk In Flight With Prey

I’ve been lucky in the past to get some nice shots of Short-eared Owls in flight carrying prey but my luck with hawks in the same situation has been abysmal. Whenever the opportunity does present itself it’s usually when the hawk has taken off away from me so all I get is another butt shot with the head and eye hidden. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc These birds typically want to take off into the wind and on this day the wind direction was just right so that the hawk didn’t fly away from me as it lifted off. So I got good light, an acceptable wing position and even a nice look at the vole with its eye visible. Ron

A Wonderful Antelope Island Morning – Including A Long-tailed Duck

It’s been a frustrating photography week for both Mia and I for a variety of reasons but it’s primarily been because the weather and light have seriously sucked – big time!. So when yesterday’s dawn showed promise we headed for the island with high hopes but low expectations because there haven’t been many bird opportunities out there recently. We were in for some pleasant surprises. I’ll present these images in the order they were taken to give a feel for the morning. 1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We had barely made it onto the causeway before this Rough-legged hawk began to entertain us. We watched as it ate a vole and then it immediately walked about two feet to its left and picked something else up with its foot. At first I assumed it was another vole, either alive or from a food cache. But in looking at close-ups of some of the photos I’m pretty sure it’s only a rock with old brine fly larvae cases and small twigs frozen to it. Then this hawk did something strange – it transferred the “rock” to its beak and deliberately flung it a good distance – here it’s flying through the air Then the bird walked over, picked up the rock in its left foot and flew off with it. My curiosity is killing me as to just what was going on. Obviously this isn’t a great shot but I was fascinated by the behavior. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Next this Northern Harrier gave us…

Rough-legged Hawk At Take-Off

It’s been a good winter in northern Utah for Rough-legged Hawks. I’ve seen many more this year than I have in years past and they were particularly abundant on Antelope Island and on the causeway. On several occasions out there we counted 20 birds or more. Their numbers have now thinned out considerably but there’s still a few of them around. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc I found this one a few weeks ago perched in the grasses in front of a darker colored field of dried sunflowers. The hawk was too obscured by the grasses for quality photos so as usual I set up for take-off. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc As the hawk gained elevation the darker sunflowers dominated the background but you can still see the out of focus grasses at the bottom of the frame. I really like the backgrounds/settings the island often provides, though all that texture and contrast behind the subject can sure make it a challenge to get focus lock on the bird – particularly in flight. I’ll miss these handsome buteos this summer but hope they have a successful breeding season on the arctic tundra and return in good numbers again next winter. Ron

Just A Shot That I Like… #15 – Rough-legged Hawk Lift Off

Ugly perches have been the bain of my photographic existence lately. When a bird lets me get unusually close it always seems to be on a metal post, sign, hunk of concrete , telephone pole or even a sailboat mast. For that reason I’ve been attempting a lot of take-off shots recently. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4 Case in point: a few weeks ago this hawk let me get ridiculously close but it was perched on a particularly unattractive metal sign. The light angle was good so I removed my teleconverter and waited to see if it would take-off, fully expecting it to launch away from me as they usually do. What a pleasant surprise when it took off parallel to me and gave me good eye contact at the same time. I particularly like the good detail, the blood on the feet from its last meal and the nice look at those namesake “rough legs”. Ron

Kiting Rough-legged Hawk

Kiting is the ability of some birds to maintain a stable position in the air by using air currents rather than by the flapping of wings or hovering. Last week I had a wonderful opportunity with this young Rough-legged Hawk while it was kiting in the stiff wind rising up from the Antelope Island causeway. The light was good and the bird was cooperative and let me get close – what more could a bird photographer wish for? 1/1000, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc It was amazing to see how still in the air this bird could be – often maintaining the same relative position to the ground without significant wing movement for long periods. I swear that if I had been using a tripod I could have focused on the bird, walked away for 10 seconds or so and then returned and snapped the shutter with the hawk still in the frame and without having had to look through the viewfinder or refocus. A bit of a stretch perhaps, but not by a lot. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Much of the time the hawk was hunting – looking down into the grasses for voles. That head position doesn’t provide the eye contact that is photographically desirable but I wanted to include a shot that illustrated hunting posture. 1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc The hawk caught several voles while I was photographing it. In this instance the bird immediately took to the air with the very young vole… …

Just A Shot That I Like… #9 – Rough-legged Hawk Taking Off

I was looking down on this Rough-legged Hawk from an elevated road when it decided to take off. 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This shot illustrates both the blessing and the curse of using an attached teleconverter. If I hadn’t been using the tc for this image I’d have had two choices: 1), crop so that the hawk was much smaller in the frame which would have reduced the impact of the image or 2), crop so the bird was still this large in the frame which would have significantly reduced image quality and increased noise. So I’m glad I had the tc on for this shot. However, after take-off this roughie unexpectedly flew past me very close and I clipped or cut off many body parts in most of those images. If I hadn’t been using the tc I’d likely have been able to get some pretty spectacular flight shots with this nice background and good light. You just never know… Ron

Sometimes the Prey Bites Back

I hope you’ll bear with me but this post will be more about behavior than image quality as I just didn’t have a good light angle for this little drama. As I’ve said elsewhere on this blog, one of my primary goals is to document interesting behaviors and at times that will take priority over the quality of the images. When Rough-legged Hawks dive on prey it can be fairly dramatic. Typically they hover high up over the potential prey for a few moments, then dive fast and at a fairly steep angle. Occasionally they seem to hit the ground so hard that it rattles my teeth, almost making me expect them to bounce on impact. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This morning I watched this hawk hover, then dive. I think you can see from the wing position that this bird was still traveling at a good clip and at a fairly steep angle when it was only a couple of feet from the ground. The prey was on a hill above me and buried in this vegetation so I didn’t see the impact. 1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Often these attempts at prey are unsuccessful but this time the hawk caught a vole (along with a talon-full of debris). The bird came out of the grasses directly toward me but then turned to its left to give me a side view. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This little vole had a bucket-full of attitude and didn’t want to go down…

A Very Cooperative Rough-legged Hawk

In a previous post I mentioned that I had been encouraged by the number of Rough-legged Hawks (roughies) I’ve been seeing this fall. Well I’m delighted to report that the situation continues to improve. On virtually every photo expedition over the last few weeks I’ve seen several of them and on two recent trips we’ve made about a dozen sightings of different individuals each time. However getting good photos of them is a different story altogether. After a season in the high arctic they’re very unapproachable and even when I have been able to get reasonably close they’re usually perched on an unattractive sign or post and take off away from me. All that changed a few days ago though when we found one very cooperative bird. This species has the most different male and female plumages (sexual dimorphism) of all our buteos and I’m quite sure this is a light phase female. 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc We first spotted this bird on a low wooden post that resembled a piling and I was pleasantly surprised that it let us approach (in my vehicle) with no signs of nervousness. It was early on a cold, frosty morning and while looking through the viewfinder I assumed that the material on top of the post was spider silk that had collected dew and then frozen. But after looking at the photos at home I wasn’t so sure so the next day I walked over to the post to check it out. Duh – should have known. It was frosted bison fur. This was Antelope Island…

Rough-legged Hawks Return To Utah

For the last couple of years I’ve had very little luck locating Rough-legged Hawks (roughies) here in northern Utah, which frustrates me because I think they’re among the most handsome and photogenic of all the raptors and I love to photograph them. These birds breed in the high arctic so they aren’t here at all during the summer. Most of them winter in the “lower 48” but they are highly nomadic and their numbers in a particular area fluctuate according to the availability of their rodent prey. This year I’m greatly encouraged because in the last ten days or so I’ve seen many of these striking hawks. 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc This one was atop a perch that is photographically challenging – a Tintic Quartzite boulder on the north end of Antelope Island. These rocks often blow out the whites on the sun side, especially if the bird on them is dark. I’ve deleted many a shot of a raven on one of these boulders. 1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, f/4, 1.4 tc This morning I had a wonderful (though sometimes frustrating) time with the roughies on the island. The highlight of the morning came when I was trying to sneak up on a kestrel perched in a rabbit brush. As I did so I noticed a gull flying right toward the kestrel but I quickly ignored it and concentrated on the kestrel. Then, at the last second, something in my mind said “hey, that was no gull” just as the bird swooped low…

Tag: rough legged hawk