Thought today would be a chance to reach back to grab two photos that made an impact on me, and hopefully you.
Yesterday I mentioned seeing a bird with a nictating membrane that was fully opaque.
A few summers ago I photographed a pair of Swainson's Hawks - dark morph - over a couple of weeks as they patrolled the hill behind our house. A strong southerly wind provided enough constant lift for them to effortlessly hover while scanning for voles. Their eyes can detect the ultraviolet wavelength of a vole's urine which leads to the vole.
One of the hawks hovered over our back deck - right above me - and "blinked" as I took the photo.
The resulting opaqueness (only slightly Photoshop enhanced for effect in this cropped photo) combined with out-reaching talons gives this bird a sinister look. It thought better of choosing me for lunch - I was either too heavy to carry away, too hard headed or too old and tough - all of which are true...sadly.
More birds came to the party on the back hill - I was lucky to catch this one after he tucked his wings and dove at high speed to snatch a vole. After years of photographing birds in flight I rarely get them in this posture they are just too fast.
The photo below is a more common posture - cruising in the wind while looking for food. This is the photo I sent to an expert for assistance in identification. I will share my embarrassment with you in order to help you not make the same rookie mistake I made.
These last two pictures are the same bird - white and brown yet it is a red-tailed hawk. The fact that it didn't have a red tail threw me off, though there is a hint of red in the second photo. The expert kindly told me that the red tail hawk is the only bird of prey with a patagial mark (see arrow). Apparently it is is a well know ID mark and can vary in darkness - okay, now we all know how to ID red tail hawks.
Tomorrow I'm breaking out some of my favorite Kestrel photos, including one that Holly took.
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