Broad-winged Hawk – Buteo platypterus
Late Saturday afternoon, Sharon and I were driving along a decrepit logging road looking for wildlife. We saw two bull Moose on the other side of a large pond eating vegetation. I found it odd that these males were in such close proximity to each other because the annual “rut” begins in a week or two. While watching the Moose, we heard a Boreal Chickadee and several Gray Jays, but neither species were seen to our dismay.
We continued driving deeper into the woods, seeing the occasional Warbler, Raven, Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, etc. Just after rounding a sharp turn, I saw something in a tree along the road, but wasn’t sure what it was. I stopped, turned around in my seat and looked around. Just off the edge of the road, about eye level, was a Broad-winged Hawk perched on a branch.
Bird Photography: Broad-winged Hawk
The Hawk was preening and seemed completely oblivious to our presence. I took advantage of this and slowly got out of the car. Crouching down, I made my way to the front of the car and started taking photos of this beautiful raptor. To my amazement, the Hawk continued to ignore us. We watched it for several minutes, and then it took flight.
I haven’t had much experience with this Hawk, and actually didn’t know for sure which species it was. I want to say thanks to the folks in my circles at Google+ for help in ID’ing this Hawk.
The following photos were taken with a Canon 7D and a Canon 400mm f/4 L IS lens. Simply click a thumbnail below for a full-sized view. ©2011 John Briggs Photography | All Rights Reserved
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Happy Birding!
{ 22 comments }
Great shots! Nice to have friends in the Know
Great photos. I love it when the birds ignore us humans and just keep on with their own lives.
I love these photos. great shots! I see broad-winged hawks here in mwv relatively frequently but I never got a pic. I usually rely on flight view, perch sighting, and sound before making an ID. I found that they remain in a relatively small area. They are not very shy but perch high. And more often than not they call. Did you hear this guy?
A big fan,
lroute
These are Stunning!! WOW!
Naaaaaaaaaice! Got one myself this week. Same kind of scruffy, juvie lookin' bird on a wire. Glad to see you are out and about birding a bit, too. Just got some nice fall warbs in the trees here at my house. Bird action is really picking up for around the feeders with juveniles and migrants.
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Superb shots John and your list is making me dream… Boreal chickadees, blue jays… what a beautiful bird world you have around
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Hey John, I'm pleased you sorted the ID over there. In any case they are just fine pictures, clear and bright – nice ones.
Lovely images of your beautiful birds.
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Beautiful photos of the amazinglooking hawk! About the moose, it seems to be rather usual that bulls are seen together at this time. Yesterday they had seen four of them in a field around here . I would have love to see it. But I dont know why they are together….
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Very nice captures of a great encounter. Love the second picture – a relaxed bird getting ready for his closeup.
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Absolutely beautiful photos of the broad-winged Hawk.
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Cool, I would love to see this Hawk and to watch the moose. Great sightings.
Hi – what a splendid set of images of a great bird – also nice to find out that social networking is not ALL bad!
Cheers – Stewart M – Australia
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Grand close ups!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
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Neat capture, John! A pretty blase hawk – must have know what you were up to.
Gosh, I hope your readers are clicking to enlarge these amazing photos. The detail and light are to die for! Thank you for sharing your incredible encounter!
Thanks for the great photos. I saw this hawk at a great distance so I appreciate studying the detail of you photos.
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Wonderful photography – stunning bird!
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Mighty fine photos John!
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You have some great content on your blog. Great images. Great articles. You also live in a very pretty state!
Chip http://throughmyeyes-choppography.blogspot.com/
I love those photos John! I'm not used to seeing those hawks perched in a tree and would be uncertain about the identity if I saw one. I'm more comfortable recognizing them in flight.
Gorgeous photo fo this immaculate photo! Also, I'm envious of the moose you have in your area. I've always wanted to see one. We have moose in the upper peninsula of Michigan but they are rare sightings.
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