hawk

Swainson’s Hawks will arrive any day now

By Mia McPherson, on March 23rd, 2013%

Adult Swainson’s Hawk – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

It is dark outside as I write this and there is perhaps 1 to 2 inches of snow on the ground and it is still coming down, winter is trying to hang on while spring is trying to push its way in. The season clash this time of the year and fluctuations in temperature and precipitation are expected.

What else is expected?

I know that I am expecting an influx of migrating birds including Swainson’s Hawks. Last year I saw my first of the year Swainson’s Hawk on April 10th in Box Elder County in northern Utah. It was a delightful day with clear skies and nice light and the hawk above is that Swainson’s.

As soon as this cold front passes I will be out looking for the birds of spring including these majestic Swainson’s Hawks.

Mia

More Swainson’s Hawk images

Hatch year Red-tailed Hawk

By Mia McPherson, on December 12th, 2012%

Red-tailed Hawk juvenile – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VT with 1.4x TC at 264mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

Yesterday we met up with Becka on Antelope Island to show her the location where we spotted yet another escaped falconry bird, a female American Kestrel. I’ll write more about the kestrel later. We left for the island later than normal because the light had been awful when we would usually head that way. The light was still bad when we reached the island but there was some clearing to the west of it so there was at least a possibility that there would be enough to get take some images of birds or animals.

After we showed Becka where we found the escaped American Kestrel we drove around looking for her and other raptors south of the Frary Peak turn off. On our way back north I spotted this immature Red-tailed Hawk high up on the rocks on a perch many birds have used as seen by the copious amounts of white-wash. When we drove up the juvenile Red-tail stayed calm as we passed it on the one lane road to get past it for a good light angle.

I certainly didn’t need ISO 1000 to photograph this young hawk, that was a setting I used earlier when the light was low. The hawk didn’t stay long, I only took 8 images of it before it lifted off facing away from us and then less than a minute later we saw it flying low to the ground below us with prey in its bill where it landed to dine on the vole it had captured.

I recall that when I first started photographing the juvenile Red-tailed Hawks in this area back in August that they missed their prey more times than they would capture it and now they seem to have gone the other way, they are catching the prey more than they are missing it.

A lot of people cheer for their favorite team or sports star, me; I’m cheering these young and amazing raptors on!

Mia

More Red-tailed Hawk images

Red-shouldered Hawk juvenile

By Mia McPherson, on August 8th, 2011%

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Sawgrass County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D70, handheld, f5.6, 1/200, ISO unknown, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light, not baited, not a set up

Last week on a rainy day I reworked some older images from 2007 from when I was still photographing with my D70. This image is even older than the others I posted last week. I was only shooting in jpeg then and didn’t know how much better it was to use RAW. I’ve learned a lot since then!

This very cooperative juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was used to the people who frequented Sawgrass County Park and it would land very close to humans. It landed on a roof of a pavillion very close to where I was standing so I took the opportunity to get some close up shots.

Now, knowing how much more I can do in RAW file in ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) I could kick myself for not having switched to RAW sooner because I could have more easily salvaged some of the shots I took where my exposure wasn’t just quite right.

It’s a beautiful raptor I think. I’m glad it landed so close to me.

I’ll discuss RAW files more at a later date.

Mia

Friday Photos – A split second does matter

By Mia McPherson, on July 29th, 2011%

Clipped Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in flight
Tooele County, Utah
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 400, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

For the past two days I have been having an amazing time photographing a family of Red-tailed Hawks; including at least 4 juveniles, in Tooele County, Utah which is west of Salt Lake City. Amazing; yes, but also extremely frustrating. The photos are being taken from a road that goes up a canyon, at times the canyon walls are very steep and that can be a problem when the birds are high above you. The hawks were constantly on the move, soaring quickly by or hanging on the currents of air that were warming as the sun rose.

Yesterday a Prairie Falcon joined the family of hawks in aerial manouvers and I truly wish they had been closer because the action was fast, fantastic and utterly mesmerizing. None of the hawk’s seemed aggressive towards the falcon and the falcon wasn’t showing any aggression either.

Because the hawks were very difficult to track when you have a limited range of motion from inside a mobile blind (vehicle) these photos were taken outside the vehicle and they were handheld because there was no time to set up a tripod. None.

Exposure control was also a challenge as the hawks soared in a blue sky with ever increasing clouds or dipped down into the Juniper and grass covered slopes. For shots where the hawks were in the sky some positive exposure compensation was needed and then a split second later I’d have to try and get the exposure back down to avoid blowing out the lights with the trees and grasses in the background.

Trying to track the fast flying birds while handholding my 200-400mm VR lens with a teleconverter while constantly trying to adjust exposure and keep the hawks in focus was hard. Ok, maybe it was more exasperating than hard. Just know that I am kicking my own rearend tonight for the shots I missed today for one reason or another.

Take the image above, nice clean look at the eye, light under the wings plus on the body and head, wonderful wing position, fanned tail and the exposure worked well. But I clipped the tips of both of the wings! I didn’t crop it that way.

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in flight

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in flight
Tooele County, Utah
Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 400, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

The frame above was the very next frame taken just mere tenths (hundreds) of a second after the image where I clipped the wings of the bird. No clipped wings and this is 94% of the original frame! I could tell I hadn’t clipped anything when I took the shot. Yay!

Again I had light under the wings plus on the body and head, wonderful wing position, fanned tail and the exposure worked well. But… the hawk had already started to turn it’s head and the look at the eye isn’t optimal. Very disappointing.

I wish I had a time machine to go back to this morning and get things exactly right. The exposures, the framing, the tracking and more.

Right now though I think I’ll go find a nice pillow to sit on and give my rearend a break from all the kicking I have been giving it. It deserves a rest.

Mia

I will try working with this Red-tailed Hawk family again soon!

More Red-tailed Hawk images

Friday Photos: A Friendly Swainson’s Hawk

By Mia McPherson, on June 3rd, 2011%

Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) portrait with the Great Salt Lake in the background
Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Last Friday I came upon this Swainson’s Hawk; not just once but twice, perched on signs very close to the road. While seeing a hawk perched on a sign isn’t all that unusual (in fact it happens quite often) having it remain on the signs while getting close enough to photograph the bird’s portrait is.

This hawk didn’t seem to mind my presence using a mobile blind (vehicle). It preened, stretched and gazed at the surrounding area. It stayed on this perch for over 5 minutes while I photographed it until a small motor home pulled up to view the bird and then it flew off.

Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) perched on a speed limit sign
Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Nikon D200, f8, 1/350, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light, not baited

Normally I prefer to take images of birds perched on natural features though I do take advantage of situations like this one to get close up shots of birds perched on manmade objects. I find the top photo more appealing to my tastes because it doesn’t contain the speed limit sign. I love seeing the Great Salt Lake, Egg Island and distant mountains in the image above yet I sure wish that the speed limit sign had been an old tree stump or other natural object.

Another time perhaps.

(By the way, the speed limit sign is actually that crooked!)

Mia

More Swainson’s Hawk images