After all the hard work located and photographing all the various raptors over the past few days, and given I am not feeling the greatest, I decided to try and “bring out the eye” of a black-capped chickadee. I think I succeeded!
I decided to return to my neighborhood Rough-Legged Hawk this afternoon and discover whether I could obtain some hunting photographs. As my photos demonstrate, the hawk definitely obliged me!
Here was my process. Once I located him, I stopped my car at some distance and let the hawk get accustomed to my car. After several minutes I inched forward at 1 to 2 miles per hour. Stopping again I then waited for the hunt to proceed. My patience was rewarded several minutes when the hawk dove on an unlucky mouse or vole. After it finished that meal, I was amazed when the rough-legged hawk flew back up to the telephone pole which was closest away from me (about 30 yards). It resumed its hunt. I decided to focus my camera on where I believed its attention was focused and hoped I might capture the instant of the kill. I did! These seven photos are all part of the hunt sequence.
I have cropped the last photograph to help readers see the rough-legged hawk’s feather legs. This hawk is one of the only birds which has feathers down to its talons. Given it spends the summer in the Canadian sub-Arctic, and the winter in northern Minnesota, the natural adaptation makes sense!
The Attack
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The Kill
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Eating
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The Take Off
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In Flight Post Hunt
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The Talons
I spent some quality time with my “Superior Snowy” just before sundown … thus many of the photos with the “golden light”. The call and flight sequence were caused by some invading crows whose presence was not appreciated by the owl!.
I think I will personally give this snowy the nickname, “Runway”. As that is where he often hangs out (see last photo taken from a distance). The “Superior” in the blog post comes from the fact this owl hangs out in Superior, Wisconsin.
Crow! Crow! Crow! (in this sequence, the snowy owl first hears and then sees some crows coming to attack it. The owl decides it is time to fly!
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Hunting for voles and mice!
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What’s the score?!
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Hanging out next to the Superior, Wisconsin Airport runway
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Sunrise the same morning over Lake Superior at Stoney Point
