The eighth and final species I was able to photograph during our western South Dakota is this Ferruginous Hawk.
My wife and I were hanging out in the four-wheel rolling rental blind on the edge of a prairie dog town, in Badlands National Park and I was hoping to capture a jump yip. Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of that story.
Suddenly the prairie dog alarm system kicked into high gear, and we heard multiple high pitched alarm vocalizations nearly simultaneously. Every prairie dog in sight was below ground in their burrows in a matter of a couple of seconds.
Then this Hawk flashed across the town just a few feet above the ground. When it landed, I wasn’t sure if it had nailed a prairie dog or not. I aimed the 500mm lens at him/her and waited. After about a minute, the hawk launched with empty talons. A miss. I started my burst in time to get the actual liftoff but its nictating membrane obscured the eye, so that one didn’t make the cut. This was a couple of frames later.
This was the first time I witnessed a full-blown red alert in a prairie dog town, and I was very impressed with how effective it was. A remarkable nature experience.
I’d like a little more detail on this hawk, but it was taken at quite distance…so this is what I got.
Loading contexts...
