Wednesday, February 19, 2020

High Noon Raptor Action

A big female Ferruginous Hawk broke the ice during a memorable raptor experience.
Suddenly, a big female Golden Eagle dived into view from behind.
The Golden Eagle graphically showed just how Big she really was when a Red-tailed Hawk dived in to measure up – wing tip to wing tip.
As she turned on the upswing of her flights through the canyon, it was possible to take rather unique photos of the grand eagle as she pivoted in flight.
The second Red-tailed Hawk that entered the scene was a first-year bird as evidenced by its brown tail. All the raptors provided photo opportunities and combined for a memorable high noon raptor showdown.

One of my biggest American photo challenges was getting a quality photo of a Golden Eagle. For decades I wished for an opportunity to take a good Golden Eagle photo. I rarely encountered a Golden and I was never really close enough to get a quality photo. One California morning, I was on alert while working my way around steep grass-covered hills and canyons where previous experience revealed this was a place of solitude and plenty for wintering birds of prey. I relished the opportunity to spend the day in this remote area, knowing that just about any California raptor could appear around the next corner.

I was intent to find a photo subject as I continued my work schedule, but the morning proved to be quite subdued for wildlife sightings. About noon, while driving slowly along the winding contour on the upper edge of a steep grass-covered slope, a wintering Ferruginous Hawk floated upward from the valley below – right beside my pickup! I was literally looking eye to eye with the Ferrug just beyond my window.

As the big hawk elevated, I stepped outside and started photographing the western raptor that appeared mostly white from below. In sync, a dark morph Red-tailed Hawk joined the Ferrug from below and they began weaving circles in the sky as they soared upward on the same thermal, seemingly mirroring one another. I photographed one hawk, then the other, and back to the first again as they sliced their way through the winter sunlight. I beamed a big, big smile and thought, “What luck!”

Suddenly a big female Golden Eagle dived into view from behind, just 20 feet to my left, and my already high excitement level spiked with another rush of adrenaline. I followed the monsta eagle’s every move through my camera lens as it swept low across the grassy hillside. Within moments the dark Red-tailed Hawk was diving after the eagle. The photos I took as the big hawk approached the Golden Eagle graphically showed just how Big the golden girl really was as the two raptors lined up wing tip to wing tip in gliding flight.

Just then, another Red-tail zipped into the scene, a first-year bird as evidenced by its brown tail. Instead of joining the fray, the young hawk flew back in my direction for a photo op as it caught the updraft off the hillside. As the hawk lifted ever higher, a swirling flock of 40 Common Ravens entered the scene, and a couple ravens peeled off to dive low at the eagle too.

The second-year Golden Eagle repeatedly flew up the canyon using updrafts and strong wingbeats to propel itself, then dived low against the dry landscape, turning on its upswing to provide some good opportunities to photograph the big raptor as she pivoted in flight. I had the impression there must be some prey remains in the valley that attracted the raptor action, but I never noticed any. The big Golden eventually landed on an adjacent hillside, only to be harried by the Ferruginous Hawk that screamed its war cry as it dived at the eagle repeatedly. The Golden Eagle ducked the hawk a couple times, then jumped into the air with flaring wings, only to circle low around the hilltop – and I never saw it again.

When I returned to the truck I found a flock of nearly 30 Mountain Bluebirds surrounding it – this avian episode became more bizarrely wonderful with each tick of the clock. I tried photographing the bluebirds, but they took flight en masse around the pickup in a lovely scene that would have added spice to any pickup commercial. As I opened the door, the Ferruginous Hawk dropped into a low flyby and we both exited the memorable scene of a great wildlife encounter – fitting, considering it was the Ferrug that started the action-filled event. You just never know what might surprise you around the next corner!

Article and photographs by Paul Konrad

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