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It was mostly overcast and cool, with a few “sucker holes” of bright, glaring sun. The goal was to visit the hawks and photograph them taking advantage of the cloud cover…reducing the backlight. The spot was very rich with hawks. A very rough estimate was at least 100 hawks were in the field and its immediate surroundings. After the hawks we made a quick pass down the owl road and continued onward to the levee.

Several harriers were at work, mostly at a distance. A couple of camera-shy ferruginous hawks stayed around the middle of the field and out of range. Red-tailed hawks were extremely abundant. A drive along the western boundary, Road 97, found at least a dozen red-tails on telephone poles and wires. More were perched in trees, and lots were sitting on the irrigation equipment.

One tree in particular had 8 red-tailed hawks, and a second tree next to it (that featured a large, long bare branch) fluctuated between one and six hawks depending on the whims of the dominant bird.

The overcast sky was still bright enough to influence backlighting, but it was not as severe as the last trip made with clear skies. After the hawks we drove across the owls and continued on Road 30 along the unpaved road to the levee. There were a few red-tailed hawks on telephone poles and other posts along the road. Numerous American kestrels were on the wires. We passed an actively hunting white-tailed kite, but did not react fast enough to shoot it.


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