Ferruginous Hawk Close-up

Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)

Ferruginous Hawk  (Buteo regalis)
Location:  near Tucson, Arizona, USA

The previous photo showed a Ferruginous Hawk in flight.    Here are some close-up photos of the same individual.  The common name, Ferruginous, refers to the bird's 'rusty' color.

The photos here, taken in quick succession, show the hawk while he was perched just a few meters away from me.   I posted both photos for a reason: If you look closely at the first, you will see a small drop of moisture at the tip of the bird's beak.  This is a product of respiration.   In the second photo, the droplet is falling, because the bird has moved its head to watch something.

I took both of these photos at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's raptor free flight display.  Here is another photo of this individual, smiling for the camera!

12 comments:

2sweetnsaxy said...

Okay, now that's an awesome photo. Not only is it a great shot of the bird but you even got drop of water falling from it's beak!!

Anonymous said...

Just WOW!

kml said...

You can really see him concentrating on his subject in the second shot. Well done!!

BNS said...

Thank you all.

@ Kathy - Yes, in an instant he just zeroed in on something. I never did see what it was, but something sure caught his attention.

Bobbie

Jinghui said...

The photos u took were sharp ! Nice colours too !

Nice photo of the Hawk ! The moisture at the tip of the bird's peak is a great capture !

Wondering if you zoom in further and take a "portrait" shot of the Hawk, how would it turn out ?

BNS said...

Hi Jinghui - That's an interesting thought about zooming in for a portrait. I only used about half the focal length of the zoom lens for these shots. Maybe I'll go back there someday and see what I can do with a longer focal length. (Good excuse to go back!)

Bobbie

crpitt said...

Now that is gorgeous!

BNS said...

Thanks, Claire.

Anonymous said...

Stunning up close shot of a cool hawk!

BNS said...

Thank you, Mon@rch.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bobbie,

Just saw your comment on my site about the shots I took of the ferruginous hawk. Looks like it was definitely the same one. Glorious creatures! I believe we both came away with keeper shots.

BNS said...

Hi Ken -

Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I'd say that both of us certainly did get some keeper shots of the hawk.

Bobbie