Immature Red-tailed Hawk Harassed By A Northern Harrier
I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.
I found an immature Red-tailed Hawk in the marsh at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday and spent 28 minutes photographing it including when a Northern Harrier harassed it.
I saw a few harriers on the wing yesterday at Farmington Bay WMA and I was able to take a few photos of a female Northern Harrier that still had frost on her nape.
Yesterday morning not long after sunrise I spent some time photographing a light morph, immature Ferruginous Hawk hunting for its breakfast.
Ten days ago I found and photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it perched on a Russian Olive tree at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge when I was heading home.
Yesterday morning the first birds I spotted and photographed was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks side by side on a rocky ledge in early morning light.
Even though it is now four years later I still look for this striking leucistic Red-tailed Hawk in Tooele County and hope to find and photograph it again one day.
The highlight of my morning yesterday was when I spotted an immature light morph Ferruginous Hawk perched on a cedar post in the West Desert.
It has been too long since I have had a Northern Harrier in my viewfinder although I'm now excited because I know that fall and winter are great seasons for me to find and photograph them.
It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, I am never not looking for birds.
I'm hoping that this week I'll be able to spot my first of the season Rough-legged Hawks and that I'll be able to get photos of them too. Fingers are crossed!
The past couple of weeks on some of my journeys to the West Desert of Utah I have been able to have a few long distance views of Ferruginous Hawks and that has me excited.
I spent sometime at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning where my best bird of the day was an immature Red-tailed Hawk resting in a tree.
I don't usually share photos where the main subject is facing away from me but I liked the alert pose of this raptor as it perched in the dead but distant juniper tree.
I had a great time photographing three recently fledged Red-tailed Hawks from two different nests in northern Utah yesterday morning.
The female Red-tailed Hawk blended into the lichen covered cliff face so well that even with my sharp eyesight I didn't see her until the male landed next to her.
In the event that our governor does force us into a total lock down I have enough images that I haven't shared here on my blog that I could post everyday for a year and still not run out of photos.
The adult female Northern Harrier was in flight in wonderful, warm morning light and I couldn't resist raising my lens and taking photos of her as she flew past.
It is almost time for me to see a seasonal switch of raptors here in northern Utah because the Rough-legged Hawks will leaving and the Swainson's will arrive soon.
For me this female Northern Harrier and the immature harrier in the other photo are a classic examples of what I like to call a hidden treasure type of image.
I keep wondering if I will see this big, gorgeous, rufous Red-tailed Hawk female in my viewfinder again this year.
When I spotted an adult Red-tailed Hawk on one of the pieces of rusty machinery two days ago on my way home from the auto tour route at the refuge I knew I had to get some photos of it.
I could wish that there weren't any branches in front of the hawk but honestly it just felt good to not have something happen to ruin my opportunity to photograph this Rough-legged Hawk.
Knowing what kind of habitat Ferruginous Hawks prefer during all four seasons here in northern Utah can increase the chances of finding them year round.
Two days ago when I stopped counting Rough-legged Hawks while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge the number had topped out at fifteen.
Two frames later the immature Northern Harrier tilted its head, looked directly towards my lens, and seemed to eyeball me and my gear.
Sometimes raptors can look deadly serious and intense, especially when they are watching, diving on or consuming prey but they can appear to look a little goofy too.
There was a stiff breeze blowing and when the light morph Rough-legged Hawk lifted off from the juniper it seemed to me as if he did it in slow motion.
I photograph birds all the time and there are a few that simply take my breath away and totally mesmerize me, this dark morph Ferruginous Hawk is one of those birds.
This immature Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk is striking with those white polka dot spots on its back, I don't think I have ever seen a young Red-tail where the white spots on the scapulars are so pronounced.
It has been a long time since I had a dark morph Ferruginous Hawk in my view finder so when I spotted it hovering over a field I knew I had to stop and get photos of it.