A Pair of Hawks

The cries of a Blue Jay alerted me to a problem in the back yard.  A hawk had been spotted.  All of the small birds around the bird feeders were gone.  I saw flapping wings and a red tail as the hawk spotted me nearing my kitchen window.  The hawk settled into a tree on the other side of the second hole of the Fontenelle Hills golf course.  He intended to wait for me to leave.

It didn't take long to set up my tripod, attach my camera and focus on the hawk.  Never underestimate the value of preparation and practice when fast action is required.  The hawk was still there.  In fact, it had been joined by another.

My kitchen window wasn't sparkling clean, but I took a few shots anyway.  I knew that the hawks would leave if they sensed any danger.  Even with over 100 yards of distance and over 30 vertical feet of loess canyon between us, they would remain cautious.

I knew I could do better without the window glass, so with several shots on the card, I decided to risk disturbing the hawks.  I set the camera up by my patio door and had my wife slowly open it until I had a view that was completely free of glass.  To my surprise, the hawks remained.  Unfortunately, the 20 degree outside air rushed in and the 70 degree air in the room rushed out,  The distortion caused by the differences in heat were worse than dirty glass.

I decided to risk moving outside.  My sun porch is next to the kitchen.   It is unheated and has a view of the backyard.  With considerable stealth I moved out to the porch and secured the screen door open.  One hawk flew away.  The other remained for a few more seconds before leaving as well.

I used a Canon 1D Mark IV with an 800mm lens for this photo.  The image above is cropped - its about 10% of the frame.