The Magic of Birds

Okay, I will warn you. There is a photograph in here that could make you throw up in your mouth a little. Honestly, you could retitle this post “When Animals Crap.” But let’s not spoil the surprise so early!

My two favorite subjects to photograph are birds and whales. They are wondrous creatures, moving with magic and grace through their environments. Sometimes you’ll even manage to find them together. Bonus!

But this isn’t about whales. It’s about birds: those magical creatures of flight.

They’re sweet, and pretty, and amazing to watch.

The challenge of photographing these wonders of flight can be great, but so is its reward. Of course, the more rare the species, the bigger the thrill. And then, there are the raptors.

There is just something about hawks and eagles that causes an adrenalin rush. Whether it’s their power, their ability to soar, or the fact that they are predators – I don’t know. Maybe it’s all those and more. Unfortunately, they have a habit of sitting high up on telephone poles – not exactly an ideal image for a “wild” animal.

And this morning, it seemed as if there was a hawk atop each pole – as many as six in a row.  They’d take flight as I’d approach, comically heading up to the next pole on my path, as if that would accomplish anything. This one, however, was content in just staring at me.

I’ve gotten plenty of photos of hawks in flight, in fields, in trees, etc. To me, those are all blase at this point. Now I enjoy photographing them in a display of power or grace. That means getting them as they land, fish, hunt, or take off from a perch, which has become an even bigger challenge with my now outdated and somewhat non-responsive camera equipment.

So when I came across this fellow (or girl), I thought I had a pretty good opportunity to get a take off that would actually be in focus.

But do you think this guy would fly? Well…no. He did a little stretch…

Then a little under wing preening…

But then I saw him prepare for take off and I thought “Oh yeah, I’m gonna get this one!” And I got it all right!It really doesn’t get too much grosser than that, does it? You realize I’m traumatized now, right? I would have been fine with it (animals always tend to poop when my big lens is pointed at them), except for that nasty chunky stuff. That just really crosses the line. I guess I now know what the hawk thought of my presence there. Well just too frikkin bad.

And a little post poop stretch. Feel better? And then, the moment I’d been waiting for…

Worth it? Hmmmm….I’ll let you know once I get the taste of bile out of my mouth.

All photos are copyright K. S. Brooks and may not be used without written permission. Any sharing of photos should reference K. S. Brooks, Photographer.