The amount of birding I have done this month is embarrassing. Between our continually crappy weather and the fact I have been designing a 100+ page website, we made one whole trip. But it was a good one!
About an hour’s drive south of the city there is a large Ducks Unlimited wetland, popular with birds and birdwatchers. There had been many reports of short-eared owls so we decided to take an evening drive out there, as they usually showed up after 7:30.
We arrived a bit earlier than the owls, so we drove along the north edge of the lake, and finally spotted our first rough-legged hawk of the winter. As soon as I saw him, I yelled STOP, and my husband hit the brakes.
A biologist friend recently told me how to get close to raptors on fence posts. You stop when you first see them, and remain motionless for a few minutes. Then you creep the vehicle forward about 10 yards, and stop and sit again. You slowly repeat this process until you’re close enough for a decent picture. It sounded like a good idea, so we tried it.
Slowly creeping down the shoulder, we got closer. At one point he hopped down from the post, and I thought we had lost him. Imagine my surprise when he popped right back up again with dinner.
While he was happily chowing down, I saw movement in the air and glanced up to see a short-eared owl fly over – the only one we saw that evening.
Either this creeping-forward thing really works, or we found a completely unconcerned rough-legged hawk. We ended up sitting right beside him, and I took a couple hundred photos plus a few videos. I think I now have more than enough rough-legged hawk photos, and I think I owe my friend a great quantity of beer.
Excellent series Pat! The last one is WOW!
Awesome job – that last shot is fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
Outstanding images! Thanks for sharing. I will have to try the creeping car technique, you captured many fabulous shots. So glad you were able to see a Short-eared Owl too!
Wow, great shots! I’ll definitely have to try sneaking up on one like that.
Very nice shots of both Raptors.
Excellent post and photos! Thanks for the tip!!
Lovely pics & blog Pat, always look forward to your posts:)
Spectacular shots! Just wow. Lucky you. I’ll remember the creeping car tip; I’ve never had any luck when pulling over. Thanks, Pat!