Black-Hawk Bonanza in Southwestern Utah

I spent a couple of days birding the extreme southwestern part of Utah this past week. I knew I'd see some good desert birds down there as well as some spring migrants and specialty birds in their usual places. However, I had one particular bird species at the top of my wish list for my two-day trip. I wanted to see a Common Black-Hawk. I love the raptors and the Black-Hawk is a rare one for Utah. I had barely seen one in a distant flight a couple of years ago and I've wanted better views and photos of one ever since. Several people had reported seeing Black-Hawks in two different locations down there recently so I knew my odds were a little better this time around.

One birding reference I have estimates that there are fewer than 300 nesting pairs of Common Black-Hawks in the United States. Most of those pairs are found in central and southeastern Arizona during the spring and summer months.  These hawks prefer to nest in remote cottonwood and sycamore trees along streams where they can hunt from a perch as they watch for frogs and others animals that exist around the streams.

My first two attempts to locate a Black-Hawk failed during my recent trip so I decided to try one of those locations again the morning of my second day. These hawks are known to soar most actively during mid-morning hours so that's when I arrived at the location. I didn't see a Black-Hawk when I arrived, but I did see a Peregrine Falcon pursuing a swallow. The Peregrine was unsuccessful in its attempt to catch the swallow so it took a perch on a rocky hillside high above me.

Peregrine Falcon Washington County, UT

I turned my attention to a stand of Cottonwood trees bordering a stream. No birds were soaring so I decided to view the stand of trees from different angles. That technique has been fruitful when looking for relatively large birds in trees on previous occasions.  A single perspective often leaves some exciting things hidden.

Several weeks ago I spotted a Swainson's Hawk perched on a power line. I had never really noticed large hawks perched on wires before and wondered how common that was. Boy was I surprised when I got my first unexpected look at the Black-Hawk I was seeking. I rounded a corner of the trees and there it was perched on a power line, right above an empty field.

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

I couldn't believe I was getting my first close looks at a Common Black-Hawk. It was a beautiful bird. What I expected to be mostly black bird turned out to include some brown tones. I noticed it had relatively long legs for a hawk of its size. It flew into some trees and perched for a few minutes, gave some calls and then moved inside the trees.

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

I was so focused on the hawk that I almost wrote off a calling roadrunner as a cooing dove. After the Roadrunner cooed a few more times I snapped out of my Black-Hawk trance and realized I needed to make sure I saw at least one Roadrunner for my trip to the desert of southern Utah. Based on the way the bird was cooing I decided to look for it on a perch rather than on the ground. I spotted it perched on top of a distant Juniper bush at the very top of the hillside near the Cottonwoods. That's one of the joys of birding--understanding bird habitats and behaviors and hunting them down by ear then sight. The great thing about hunting for wildlife with the Nikon is that they all live to see another day!

Greater Roadrunner Cooing From the Top of Juniper, High on a Hillside Washington County, UT

I remembered that I had to check out of my hotel by 11 so I headed back to St George to get that done. After checking out of the hotel I decided to drive back to the Black-Hawk location and spend the last couple of hours of my trip studying the behavior of the Black-Hawk. This time around I was able to meet a friendly man who owned property in the area. He allowed me to view the location from a different perspective so I drove to the opposite side of the trees and realized the hawk had flown to where a second Black-Hawk was standing on the side of the nest. I kept my distance once I realized there was a nest and remained in my truck to avoid disturbing the birds.

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

Seeing two Black-Hawks at the same time at a nest site was just part of the experience. The other part came when the property owner moved his donkeys, mules, and horses into the field from which I was viewing the hawks. The four-legged grazers were drawn like a magnet to my temporary post. They were not shy animals.

A Donkey Takes a Look at Me as I Have My Camera Recording a Common Black-Hawk

The image above provide a bit of the perspective I had on the nest. The nest was about forty feet above the ground and more than 100 feet from me. The little brown spot straight up from the camera and just above the door frame is the nest in the trees. 

One of the two birds perched in a tree across the field from me just before I left the area. The lighting was harsh and sort of washed out the colors. The bird was at rest for a while and eventually took flight. I took that as a cue for me to also take flight and begin the trip back home to northern Utah.

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

Common Black-Hawk Washington County, UT

A 360° View of a Peregrine Falcon With and Without Prey

It was a wintry day in Utah County today--not the best for wildlife photography. It was cold, overcast, and garnished with mixes of light rain and snow. It was not looking good for my planned raptor outing when I left home this morning. However, birds still need to eat so I set out with hopes of discovering new raptors in areas close to home. I drove to a few local fields and didn't see much more than the ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawks and one Prairie Merlin.

On my way home, however, I made a last minute decision to take a side road from Lehi's Main Street over to Pioneer Crossing. The road is called Mill Pond Road because it runs by Mill Pond. The pond is situated between I-15 and the Pioneer Crossing/American Fork Main Street off ramp. I was ecstatic to see an adult Peregrine Falcon (Anatum subspecies) perched on a power pole. It was feasting on what appeared to be the fresh remains of a pigeon or dove. The falcon was content and allowed me to photograph it from multiple vantage points. I remained inside my truck and used it as a mobile blind. The area was under construction so I eventually drove a complete circle around the bird over a fifteen minute period.

The crop was already quite full when I captured this first image. You can see the bulging feathers on the chest. The pinkish wash of the underside of the falcon is characteristic of the Anatum subspecies of Peregrine Falcons. This subspecies remains in Utah year round. Many of these falcons remain around their nesting areas without migrating like many other birds.

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Waterfowl, pigeons, doves, and other birds are staples in the diet of Peregrine Falcons. These falcons can reach speeds close to 200 miles an hour when they stoop to catch prey midair. It would have been interesting to see how this falcon captured its prey prior to taking it to the top of the pole. You can see blood on the bill and talons of the falcon. As the images progress you'll notice both the bill and the talons become free of the remains until there is no sign of the meal other than the enlarged crop.

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

The falcon actually dropped the prey after I had been watching it for about ten minutes. It fell to the ground where I had a clear view.

Remains Dropped by a Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

The falcon looked like it might drop to the ground for a moment to retrieve the prey, but it chose to stay on its perch and clean up the scraps that remained at the top of the pole.

Peregrine Falcon Looking Down Toward Prey it Dropped in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

The falcon rubbed its talons to remove some feathers and other remains.

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

The falcon commenced with the finishing touches of the clean up process by picking a few remaining feathers from its talons. This falcon seemed rather meticulous about cleaning up and then fluffing its feathers before it departed from its temporary perch.

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Full Crop in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Full Crop in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

The Bird That Got Away: Technically Bad But Interesting Bird Images

I originally shared this post on Birding Is Fun!. I'm now sharing on my own blog.

Capturing a great nature shot--especially when the subject can fly, scurry, or run--is a combination of skill, determination, equipment, and plain old luck or timing. Photographers often sift through lots of bad images before they share their work with others. Thank goodness for digital images that can be captured and deleted at practically no cost in comparison to film.  I've heard some great photographers say they shoot from tens to hundreds of images to get the one they think is worth sharing.

I love capturing and sharing images of birds and other creatures and I typically share only my favorites unless the image is meant for functional purposes such as providing proof of a rare bird. This post, however, will be the exception to the rule. In other words, I'm sharing images that would have been really awesome had I been better prepared, had better equipment, lighting, timing, etc. I'll probably kill any chance I had for being published in National Geographic once this post gets out. What follows are images that could have been.

I was wandering around Silver Lake near Utah's Brighton Ski Resort one wintry morning when a Steller's Jay gave a call. I turned around just in time to fire off my shutter and capture the jay flying over head. It looks more like an x-ray than a bird in flight. The sky was gray so lighting, camera settings, and my preparedness were off for this one.

Steller's Jay at Brighton Ski Resort Near Salt Lake City, UT

I can't complain about the lighting for these images of a Red-shafted Northern Flicker that was coming in for a landing one sunny morning as I was strolling along American Fork Boat Harbor. I saw the bird coming, I've always wanted to capture an image showing the really cool salmon-colored feathers and this was my opportunity. Unfortunately, I didn't get a tight focus until right before it landed and the branches obscured what I was targeting.

Northern Flicker (slightly out of focus) American Fork, UT

Northern Flicker (missed opportunity) American Fork, UT

An Osprey caught me off guard once and left me with a slightly out of focus image of what would have been an awesome raptor shot. If I crop it any more than this you'll quickly see that the eyes were out of focus. When the subject's eyes are out of focus it just doesn't make the cut--unless your point is to show what can go wrong in nature photography. Which, I have to remind myself, is the point of this post.

Osprey in American Fork, UT

Several years ago my company moved me into a nice corner office on the top floor of our building which was right next to excellent habitat for birds, foxes, deer, marmots, and more. I had seen some Peregrine Falcons around the area so I kept my camera in my office in case the perfect opportunity arose. On the day the opportunity presented itself I had left my camera in my truck. I saw a Peregrine enjoying lunch on the balcony ledge outside my office. I ran to the elevator, dropped six floors, retrieved the camera  from the truck and then slightly opened the door while on my knees to get a direct line to the bird. I snapped what would have been very nice images if there weren't two metal wires running horizontally between me and the bird. Consequently, the falcon's chest and the lunch (a dove) were blurred.

Peregrine Falcon with Dove South Jordan, UT

I was quite "surprised" as I was driving through Surprise, Arizona on my way back to Utah one day. I saw a Greater Roadrunner, running rather greatly along the road. I suddenly veered to the shoulder of the road. I'm not sure if it was legal where I was driving, but my excitement about seeing a roadrunner up close for the first time overruled my concern for everything else going on around me. I scrambled to get the camera bag and turn on the camera. The excitement was so great I was fumbling with every move. The bird suddenly plucked a Round-tailed Squirrel from beneath the sand and proceeded to thrash it against the ground. Man, I wish I would have been on a higher shutter speed to get a clearer image. It was definitely a moment I'll always remember.

Greater Roadrunner With Round-tailed Squirrel Surprise, AZ

Speaking of roadrunners, I got some really nice images of two roadrunners near Lytle Ranch in southwestern Utah this spring. However, one image had a missed opportunity because I wasn't anticipating that the bird would leap from one branch of a Joshua tree to another. I guess you could use this image to study its feet. The tail doesn't look like much, but wait til you see the next image.

Jumping Greater Roadrunner Washington County, UT

I had an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk fly right passed me as it was pursuing its breakfast one morning in Tonaquint Nature Center in St George, Utah. I got some nice images of the bird perched, but this time, unlike the jumping roadrunner, this bird decided to dive down from a perch. Too bad people aren't more interested in seeing the undertail of Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Tail of Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk St George, UT

Townsend's Solitaires are often viewed as rather bland, gray birds. I've always wanted to get an image of a Townsend's Solitaire with it flashing it yellow wing patches. The bird below was actually perched and suddenly took flight. Unfortunately, the unexpected wing patch shot turned out to be more of the bird playing a mean joke on me. Not a bad shot of a branch however.

Townsend's Solitaire in Pleasant Grove, UT (it was perched when the image was framed)

Another unexpected jumping bird turned out to look like a Photoshop effort gone bad. I don't use Photoshop so this is probably just as good as if I did Photoshop the image all by myself. Trust me on this one.  It would have been a nice image if the bird would have sat still on the branch below it.

Jumping Townsend's Solitaire at Tibble Fork Reservoir Utah County, UT

How do you like this awesome Barn Owl shot? It was actually perched on a power line as I was driving to the grocery store. It started to fly when I pulled over for a photo. Apparently this owl doesn't know how to frame itself well for a photo. If you look closely you can see the little black spots on it underside. By the way, that's a beautiful snow-covered mountain in the background. Be honest now, doesn't it make you want to ski in Utah?

Missed Barn Owl Shot Pleasant Grove, UT

I was driving home from work a few years ago and saw not only my first Swainson's Hawk ever, but I saw several within minutes. They must have just gotten off the last flight from Argentina. That's where they come from you know. It was April and I think that is when flights from Argentina to Utah are heavily booked by Swainson's Hawks. I was also new to photography at the time and I think I had everything on my camera set to auto. Someone told me that was all I needed to do to get good photos. Must have been a poor job on the hawks part. I'm sure if it knew it was going to go viral on the Internet it would have focused itself and kept all of its body parts in the frame.

Swainson's Hawk Springville, UT

I don't know. Is this a bad image of a Killdeer? Nice colors I guess, but what did I do to scare it off in such a hurry?

Killdeer Spanish Fork, UT

When I saw this Pygmy Owl's eyes go wide and it mouth start to gape I knew a pellet was about to be ejected in some sort of projectile fashion. I pressed the shutter release and fired away in continuous shooting mode. It took longer for the bird to clear its throat than expected. Between the capacity of the camera's sensor and the memory card the frames per second choked and stalled right as the pellet came forth.

Northern Pygmy Owl Aspen Grove Lodge Utah County, UT

The best I could do was take a picture of the pellet after my friend traipsed through hip-deep snow to retrieve the pellet and place it on the road. The point of showing this image is to see if you can identify the species of bird or mammal inside.

Freshly Expelled Northern Pygmy Owl Pellet Aspen Grove Lodge Utah County, UT

Please don't give up on my work. I have desire and better equipment now. I'm getting better all the time. I promise I'll do better next time.