Hawks from the Arctic

Each fall the appearance of the first Arctic nesting Rough-legged Hawks along the border of the Dakotas is a seasonal turning point that takes place just a couple weeks after the last Swainson’s Hawks leave for South America. It’s pretty surprising to see how that works, but during the week from November 16 to 22 was really a peak period for Rough-legged Hawks in the surrounding area. While I was only seeing 1 or 2 Rough-legs per outing the previous 2 weeks, during 3 recent afternoons I sighted 6, 7, and 7 Rough-legs, including an incredible dark morph female.

This image shows the strength and intensity of this female dark morph Rough-legged Hawk on the hunt in advance of a weather change. As the hawk flew directly toward the camera, at the last moment it veered to the side to catch the afternoon sunlight just before clouds blocked the sun (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 400 ISO.)

Of the 20 Arctic nesting hawks observed, 18 were operating solo, but 2 special Rough-legs were sighted in tandem, hunting along a ridgeline. One was the only dark morph Rough-leg sighted recently, a female, as indicated by its chocolate brown plumage (males are colored black). I was lucky to work my way into a position where the hawks would come toward me and toward the sunlight if they continued along the ridge, and they did. My attention was focused on the rarer dark morph hawk, which provided some initial photos as it glided and hovered the updraft that extended above the top of the ridge.

As the hawk moved a bit south I repositioned to keep the sunlight at a better angle from behind me, and as the sun was shaded by a passing cloud, the hawk hovered and provided some shaded photos as it tipped its closer wing upward. That’s when the Rough-leg flew over a wetland to resume hunting along the next hilltop, which is where the other hawk was already on the hunt. I repositioned along the adjacent road to wait, and darned if the dark hawk didn’t slowly but steadily approach closer and closer.

In contrast to the first image of an Arctic hawk, this Rough-leg has a different look under different lighting conditions later in the day. Timing and lighting are crucial to every good photograph, and in the case of flying birds, their position changes can be measured in split seconds. The review process after taking the photos reveals the best of the best (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/3200 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

A cloud front was approaching and the sunlight was becoming an ever more fleeting element, but the sun broke through again just as the chocolate-colored hawk came into photo range. I followed its head-on progress through my lens until it was just about to pass over me, and that’s when the hawk veered slightly north on widespread wings in a position that allowed the sunlight to illuminate its entire underside and head perfectly. It provided a quick chance for me to take a series of 3 photos as it passed by – success!

Taking flight photos like this requires timing and good sunlight, plus a fast shutter speed to stop the action (600mm zoom lens, f-9 aperture, 1/2500 shutter speed, 800 ISO.)

Moments later the sun was blotted out of the sky by a cloud bank, not to emerge again until just before sunset. A total of 6 Rough-legs were on hand across my route west then north, following the eastern side of the Coteau hills, but the dark morph hawk provided the only successful photo session that Saturday afternoon. Even so, the excitement of finding 6 Rough-legged Hawks and having a banner chance to photograph the attractive Arctic hawk provided a clear focal point for the following sunny afternoon – to find and photograph more Rough-legs (while surveying the same area for migrating geese, swans, and ducks, and all other birds).

My Sunday birding route provided more good luck as I found 7 more Rough-legged Hawks, all single birds, and 2 provided some quality photo opportunities – 1 while hunting and 1 while perched, but also hunting – separated by about 20 miles and 2 hours of time. And maybe that’s the most obvious theme for this Bird Photography feature: Photographing birds is not easy, but in many ways it is the ultimate level of birding that often provides the highest level of excitement and satisfaction, the biggest thills that result from many hours of searching and hoping and wishing – ha.

In many ways it becomes a treasure hunt, first searching for a bird to photograph. I often have birds in mind when I begin a bird photography outing, and have a place or places to check for birds I think I might find – you know how it goes. You find the treasure in any number of ways, first by finding a bird you think you may be able to photograph. Next, by trying to get close enough to photograph it without disturbing the bird, and to position yourself with the sun at your back and the bird in front of you. That’s when you are in business, beginning to photograph the bird, watching for it to turn just the right way so its beak stands out from the background or even its own plumage, waiting for a shift in position – perhaps stretching a wing, or spreading its wings above its back, or even flapping as a part of feather and body maintenance – those photos can be especially impressive.

When you find an especially trusting bird, it’s rewarding to spend a little extra time to watch for its next move, and the time in its presence can be part of the treasure of the resulting photographs (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/2500 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Sometimes you try intercepting a bird or flock of birds as they fly near your position, or maybe you are lucky enough to photograph a bird or flock while it is landing, or displaying. Action photos are always the most exciting to take and to review, and the hardest to get just right. But that’s when the real treasures emerge. As you get a closer look at the results of your photo session on a bigger screen, a computer or tablet screen that you can review image after image, and begin the highly creative photo editing process. For me, I mostly limit my editing to picking out my favorite photos, then cropping them in the best way using my eyes of composition. And the results are the true treasures, the finished products, the ultimate photographs of the day, of the season, of the species, of a lifetime!

Yes, we all treasure our best photos, each one unique, each with its own story and memories to share. But that’s the payoff, the ultimate treasures. In the meantime, getting to the treasure point is usually not easy, or quick. How many birds do we miss opportunities to photograph, either because of their distant position, their lack of proximity to good lighting, their ultra-wariness, or just bad timing. Add to that technical problems with the camera, camera settings, the lens and its settings, and our own misgivings – there are a lot of variables that enter into getting a good photograph, and that’s what makes each goodbird photo a treasure.

In the midst of a circling flight, this Rough-leg continued to scan the grass-covered ground below for prey. It’s hard to imagine that this Arctic hawk was the same bird pictured in the third photo above; that photo was taken as the hawk flared vertically in flight to show its underside (600mm zoom lens, f-9 aperture, 1/3200 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Too often we don’t mention the bird photography episodes that weren’t successful, or the photo ops that we missed by human error during a split-second opportunity, or a technical miss. But that’s an even bigger part of the process – the misses. The holes we dig that don’t contain a treasure chest – ha. But that’s part of what makes bird photography so exciting and so enjoyable, and the payoff is huge when we get an ultimate photo of an impressive bird. A treasured photo may be a simple portrait of a bird as it rests or watches for food; or at the other end of the spectrum it may be a bird in mid-flight, in mid-fight, or when tenderly watching over a downy brood of young ‘uns.

If I didn’t share the insight of the many miles and many Arctic hawks sighted, and the days I tried to put myself into a position to find, then photograph a noble hawk above the prairie, it makes bird photography seem all too easy – or like I have the best luck with my camera. But to take it a step farther, I also hoped to add a few more Rough-legged Hawk photos to this article, but my luck and poor weather and rare sunlight since a week ago Sunday didn’t provide many good opportunities, and the 2 photo chances I had last Friday didn’t produce quality photos. They provided all the rest – finding a bird, getting into the best position possible, having or waiting for ample sunlight, and taking a number of photos of each of the elegant raptors. But the resulting photos were not treasures; they were documentary photos at best. Even so, that’s part of bird photography, and I surely enjoy the process, even without the hoped for results.

In the end, I’m super excited to share 5 high-quality photographs of Rough-legged Hawks I sighted and photographed in a variety of positions in flight and at rest, on the hunt and on the wing. I found treasures each of my days afield and created treasures through my photographs. But I’m not a treasure-hunting millionaire yet, so I continue to search out the next bird, the next flock of birds, and hope for the next treasure in the process. Enjoy the birds around you with your camera ready to photograph birds of all kinds, and Good Luck!

Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

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