Day 316: Rough-Legged Hawk: Attack – Kill – Eat – Take Off

I decided to return to my neighborhood Rough-Legged Hawk this afternoon and discover whether I could obtain some hunting photographs. As my photos demonstrate, the hawk definitely obliged me!

Here was my process. Once I located him, I stopped my car at some distance and let the hawk get accustomed to my car. After several minutes I inched forward at 1 to 2 miles per hour. Stopping again I then waited for the hunt to proceed. My patience was rewarded several minutes when the hawk dove on an unlucky mouse or vole. After it finished that meal, I was amazed when the rough-legged hawk flew back up to the telephone pole which was closest away from me (about 30 yards). It resumed its hunt. I decided to focus my camera on where I believed its attention was focused and hoped I might capture the instant of the kill. I did! These seven photos are all part of the hunt sequence.

I have cropped the last photograph to help readers see the rough-legged hawk’s feather legs. This hawk is one of the only birds which has feathers down to its talons. Given it spends the summer in the Canadian sub-Arctic, and the winter in northern Minnesota, the natural adaptation makes sense!