Rough-Legged Hawk
Thanks for all of your great comments everyone! Taken at a rare time when a lone rough-legged hawk came to visit at the Nanaimo Estuary. It spent several weeks there and was very tame leaving many people with fantastic images.
Brunswick Point Rough-Legged Hawk (Wind Rider)
Went with Pius and Dave yesterday to have a bit of fun on the mainland at Brunswick Point and Boundary Bay. Tried to get a few good shots of this rough-legged hawk. Pretty skittish but managed to get some distant images of him hunting. Here the hawk is just hovering in the wind.
A Time To Remember (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Taken when he landed on a bush right beside me at the viewing platform on the Nanaimo River.
Estuary Rough-Legged Hawk
Haven't seen any of these guys here for a couple of years. Here is one from the archives that never got posted. It is one in a series of 3 images that I took of a rough-legged hawk blasting off of a tree on the Nanaimo River back in 2015. Hope you like it.
Environmental Image (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Another image from the archives. A rough-legged hawk launches itself off of a cherry tree at the Nanaimo River Estuary.
Back Shot (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Here's another cool shot from last week.
Beautiful Buteo
This one needs to be seen at full size to appreciate the detail. Enjoy!
Getting Ready For Liftoff (Rough Legged Hawk)
Love the markings on these guys. I would hazard a guess that this is a female.
Getting Ready (Roug-Legged Hawk)
It's been pretty dead lately. Can't wait for raptor season to start again.
Bursting From a Branch
Kind of dead around here lately for interesting birds to photograph. Here is another shot that never got published from the rough-legged hawk. Created a new brush preset for my signature/watermark today. Hope you like it. For those of you out there that have never tried it you should at some point. You can even take complex greyscale drawings and mix them with text and patterns to create unique logos with any color you want.
I Can Fly!
Another image from the 2015 archives.
Near Miss
A rough-legged hawk looks disappointed after a missed attempt at a mouse. The dark overturned leaf at his feet marks where he hit.
Another One From The Vault (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Don't get too excited! This image is one that didn't get posted from last winter. There have been rumors about rough-legged hawks out at the estuary this year but I have not seen any as of yet. I doubt that we will ever get such a good photographic opportunity as we did last year with this guy. Many more images of him to post in the future but I will try to spread them out as not to get too boring. Best viewed at the larger sizes.
Down Beat (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Nice wing and dorsal detail in this one.
Latest Roughie Close Up
Haven't had an image of the rough-legged hawk in a bit so here is one from this week. Make sure you view it at full size to catch all of the detail!
A Good Hunter
I had to clean this image up a bit. Somewhat too much graphic violence. The rough-legged hawk devoured at least three voles while we watched it hunt yesterday.
Christmas Angel
Caught the rough-legged hawk in an angel-like wing position.
Branch Ballerina #2
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Branch Ballerina #1
Nice wing extension on this one. We had better light today.
Low Light Photography
Had to work in the lower light today with slow shutter speeds and larger apertures. Not to mention that the rough-legged hawk kept trying to fly up into my 600mm lens :-).
Owl Post Hawk 2
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Driftwood Roost in Evening Sun
Here is today's perch image. Pretty harsh light. Taken towards the end of the day.
Hunting During The Flood
Got to the Nanaimo Estuary yesterday morning and it was like a lake. The rough legged hawk just stayed on the high ground and let swimming voles come to her. She only flew once in about two hours as she was all fed up. Cool to watch. Should have brought higher boots as I got stuck with her on a little island for over an hour and had to wait for the water to go down.
Forgotten Frame
Oops! Here is one of the better ones that I forgot to post from yesterday. Enjoy!
Just Hanging Around
Lots of good photo ops at the estuary today. Pretty tough lighting though at times. Here the rough legged hawk hovers above the field hunting for more voles. Original image taken at a distance of about 50 feet.
Diving For Voles
Here is the image before the hawk caught the vole in the following photo. This is when he first leaped off of the oak tree to begin his dive.
Murder In The Grass
A rough-legged hawk catches a vole in the grass at Nanaimo Estuary.
Bomber From Below
The rough legged hawk hovers above me while hunting. Looks kind of like a world war 2 bomber. Acts very much like an osprey when he hovers but instead of diving for fish he dives on voles in the grass.
And Now For Something Competely Different
Here is a very close head on image of the rough-legged hawk. Thought that he was going to fly right down my lens barrel. Must be taking lessons from the "bullet bird" shrike!
Sunny Day Hawk
Here is today's installment of the rough-legged hawk. He was posing for everyone as usual and even caught a vole and devoured it very close to photographers.
Environmental Image (Rough-Legged Hawk)
Here is one for those of you who might prefer a more environmental image from further away.
Stretching Out (Rough-Legged Hawk)
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Rough-Legged Hawk Flight Shot (Wings Up)
Here is a flight shot from today. Lots of shadows made photo angles tricky at times.
Estuary Rough-Legged Hawk (Wings Down)
Here is a flight shot from today. Lots of shadows made photo angles tricky at times.
Owl Post Hawk
Here the rough-legged hawk perches on a pole usually reserved for short-eared owls this time of the year.
(Seen best at full resolution)
Northern Visitor (Rough-Legged Hawk)
This guy has been quite a celebrity lately. The rough-legged hawk is somewhat like a snowy owl in that it is only seen on the odd occasion in southern B.C. Usually it is when the immature hawks are driven out of their regular hunting area to more southern locations in search of food during the winter. You could tell that this guy had not been overly exposed to humans and let most photographers come quite close.
