Hawkeye
I found this juvenile Red-tailed hawk perched on a treetop west of Bragg Creek facing towards me. As always, I hoped for a launch in my direction. Sometimes it happens, this time it didn’t. I kept tracking the bird as it flew away and when it banked gently to the left I squeezed off a few frames. I was very lucky to catch this one with a clear shot of the eye which elevated it considerably. The Red-tails are returning in droves to southern Alberta now – I am looking forward to seeing them much more again.
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Red-tailed flights in Turner Valley
On my return from the two separate visits with Great Horned Owls near High River, I drove past Okotoks, through Black Diamond and Turner Valley and then back to Bragg Creek. I counted more than twenty five hawks before I reached Priddis. Along the way, I stopped a couple of times that were in interesting locations.
One Red-tailed hawk was hunting from a wooden gate and fence dividing a farm from the highway. This hawk dove once while I was set up – it was great to observe an attack from close range thanks to a long telephoto lens. It returned to the post empty-taloned but then launched out over the field and grabbed a mouse when it neared the far side. Too far for a decent photograph but great to watch.
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Turner Valley Hawk
A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) launches over the fields near the town of Turner Valley in Alberta, Canada.
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Full extension
Canon 5DIII and 500mm lens: 1/2000 second at f/4 on ISO 800
When this Red-tailed hawk launched off the post I had been watching him on for a few minutes, I was really impressed by the power and balance displayed. He flew closer and then went to the ground after circling back towards the fenceline. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an attacking dive only an uninspired landing in the tall grass.
Canon 5DIII and 500mm lens: 1/2000 second at f/4 on ISO 800
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Red-tailed Hawks in flight
With Red-tailed Hawks back in our area, I’m still enjoying the novelty of their return. I went out on the weekend and found a few more who I had the opportunity to photograph in flight. The snow stole a couple of shots by throwing the auto focus off but it added character that more than made up for those.
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Autumn with a hawk in Springbank
The crops around the Springbank airport have all now been harvested. This leaves the fields shorn bare except for the uncollected bales of hay. The attraction drawing hawks is the exposed ground which presently offers little protection for field mice and the like. I have spent a fair bit of time walking and driving along the range roads to photograph some of the activity while it lasts. This Red-tailed hawk, one of the light morphs, was absolutely beautiful. It flew between a couple of posts before launching out across the meadows.
(please click on any image to open a higher resolution version)
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A screaming hawk in Springbank
This Red-tailed hawk is often perched on one of the telephone poles which line a gravel road along Highway 8, west of Calgary. This morning I turned off to see if I could find her. I did and she wasn’t overly pleased to see me. As soon as I stopped near her pole-top perch, she took flight. I felt like I stole this one before she flew further down the road. I was happy with this image and didn’t want to harass her further so I left her alone.
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Prairie Wildlife: Red-tailed Hawks
With spring having taken control, the hawks have returned in earnest to the prairie and the foothills around Bragg Creek. During my hikes and drives, I often cross their path. When they wait long enough for me to pull up my camera, I really enjoy photographing them in flight. I’ve had a couple nice flight series so far and wanted to share a few ahead of a larger raptor project I’m working towards completing in the fall.
When the sun is low in the sky, the warm light can beautifully illuminate the stretched out primary feathers (the fingers), the splayed out tail feathers (particularly true with the Red-tailed hawks) and the patterns in the covert feathers (the layers covering the wing at the base of the primaries). With the sun behind, the backlit feathers can glow in a striking fashion which I find very appealing.
Christopher Martin Photography 