The Hawk | My Entry To Deranged Photo Contest | Feathered Friends

I have written about the Hawk before. That's no coincidence. I love birds of prey! Unfortunately due to the circumstances I don't have the opportunity to photograph them in the wild yet, but ... this could change soon. I really hope so because that seems like the most wonderful thing to do. Photographing birds of prey in their own territory and with their natural behaviour.

I definitely did not photograph the Hawk in these photos under natural conditions. Far from! A bird of prey show in an animal park is not natural ...

Still, that moment was an opportunity to photograph a magnificent animal, so yeah ... since I was there anyway, I made the most of it. With the telephoto lens that also took its last pictures on this day. In the middle of the day, this 70-300 lens broke, and I haven't been able to buy a new one since. That is, a lens with the quality I demand from a lens. Of course I could have bought a cheap 70-300, but I know from experience that I get disappointed in that. So I've decided to save up... and then look for a lens specifically for wildlife. So more focal length in my lens.

Well, that aside. Now back to the Hawk. What do you actually know about the Hawk? And what do I really know about the Hawk? I did pay attention ... and remember things. For example, I know that;

• A female hawk is larger than the male
  49 to 56 centimeters in size is a male hawk; the span of its wings is on average 1 meter. But with that he still loses to the female hawk; she is 58 to 64 cm tall and has an average wingspan of 115 cm.

• The hawk is an excellent navigator
  A hawk can reach 80 kilometers per hour, but that's especially when it dives for prey from an ambush. In forested areas, a hawk is an excellent navigator. He doesn't need a tom-tom, he doesn't need a sensor like a drone, and still he won't hit trees. And also without any problem finding his way through 'his forest'. The prey includes rabbits and other small mammals, and birds such as pigeons and crows.

• The female hawk lays an average of 3 to 5 eggs
  The eggs are blue-white in color. The breeding period takes place from late March to June. The breeding period lasts approximately 40 days, and the Goshawk is emancipated enough to do this together. Both the male and the female take on the task for part of the breeding time.

• After the eggs hatch, the young Hawks remain cozy with their parents for an average of 40 days
  Before they actually fledge, in search of their own territory, they stay close to their parents for the first four weeks. In these weeks they are still fed by their parents.

• The young Hawks stay close to the parents
  A young Goshawk looking for a home of his own will usually find it only 11 miles from the parent's property. And that terrain that the young bird chooses, it will stay there for the rest of its life.

Which immediately brings me to the following, unfortunately most Hawks do not live older than 4.5 to 5 years. And that's not because this beautiful bird can't age. Due to the hunting behavior of people and the danger of natural enemies, many young Hawks die in their first years.

If they survive these critical years, they can live to be between 15 and 20 years old. And that's what I would give them! Hopefully many Hawks in freedom will reach this beautiful age and I will get the chance to photograph a Hawk in the wild.

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