While hawks are a protected species, they are nonetheless quite shy in our area and it is extremely difficult to get close enough to one for a decent still photograph. One may sometimes see them quite close when they are driving backcountry roads, but they usually fly when the vehicle stops.
One gave me a brief photographic opportunity this week, when I came upon him as he was eating what appeared to be a small rodent. As my vehicle approached, he flew from the ground to a nearby hay bale with his prey, finished eating it.and then flew away.
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| Red-tailed Hawk-? Probably some other species, but it is a large bird! |
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| Hawk Consumes Remnants Of Prey |
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| Hawk Prepares To Fly Away |
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Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill
14 comments:
Great shots! So glad you had that encounter.
From below, it looks like the hawk has such long legs.
Fantastic close encounter! Remarkable detail of the hawk in these photos!
Amazing shots, what a great opportunity to take photos of this beautiful bird of prey.
An English Girl Rambles
Willard: It is always nice to get a capture as you drive by, This is a good type of drive-by shooting.
I would have said a Sharp-shinned Hawk as the ID because of the pose. I also don't see the red in the tail.
Its a beaut Willard.
Awesome job on your pictures. :) You can really see the details.
Beautiful. I think there are some hawks out by the Turnpike, Rte 43 in my part of PA. Gorgeous birds.
These are super shots.I know all about them flying away as soon as one slows down.sigh!
Blessings,Ruth
I think it might be a juvy Coopers, or sharp-shinned. The tail is quite long. None-the-less, great encounter!
What ever it is Willard the pictures are excellent :)
Beautiful captures, the bokeh you managed to get in these images are special...Thomas
Impressive pictures of the hawk. Haven't seen one like that yet, but have seen ones that are red-tailed hawks.
My 1st time to join CC. Have a great weekend!
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Absolutely fantastic! I cannot get them to sit still for me either.
Really beautiful photos. I believe it to be a juvenile Coopers hawk.
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