(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Bucket Friday Sequence: Come Fly With Us [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-10 'Pants On Fire', a Rough Legged Hawk, soars over open space in the Flint Hills of Kansas. When I was very young the folks who chose me to save from the ‘evil of heathen culture’ severely limited my freedoms. But they overlooked what may be the two most educational and formative freedoms of all. While they selected the bulk of my stimulus, hand picked the human company I encountered, and manipulated my activities, by the time I was about 10 they allowed me to spend my unscheduled days in natural space with companionship of my dog Happy and my horse Comanche. The other freedom I enjoyed was the ability to choose what books I wished to read. That was all I needed in order to assume and foster a strong belief in the ways and order of nature as well as learning about the Native culture they were intent on saving me from. The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Flint Hills of Kansas One of my favorite past times was to ride far out onto the prairie, then stop in an inviting spot where my horse had plenty of grazing. I turned my horse loose and lay back in the soft grass to look upward and watch whatever happened in the infinity overhead. I don’t recall seeing many vultures back then. My isolated prone position in the tall grass should have interested any that were around. It did attract the attention of hawks. They would soar and circle, lowering to hover for a closer look. Watching their skills in flight and the freedom it afforded them made me envious. I tried to imagine doing just what they did. To feel what they feel while in flight is a wish I never outgrew, even if the nearest I could duplicate it is to watch them do it. When the day was done I would ask Happy to go get Comanche so we could make our way back to where we started. The closest I can come to reliving the best of those times is to photograph raptors in the act, then study the poses at my leisure, and share that through a newer freedom of choosing my own friends. Following is a sequence of photos posted in the exact order they entered my camera. Some clicks are missing due to operator error or loss of favorable light, but I hope you can look at what there is and imagine flying right alongside this beautiful Rough Legged Hawk I have named Pants On Fire. Your Rough Legged Flight Plan Pants On Fire vacates a perch deemed uncomfortably close to me. The early evening Sun shining through his feathers made it look ever so much like they were ablaze. Pants On Fire initially heads west, but after putting distance between us he circles back around to head east, AND to check me out on the way. As he went over he paused to circle a few times for closer looks, then resumed his eastward route. Each time he turned while at his closest to me I tried to take advantage of the light and click away. I hope you can see by the poses how it must feel to be able to do what he does so effortlessly. If you scroll down fast enough you might be able to gauge the wingbeats. I was unable to complete it in time for this Bucket but will present another view of this sequence at a later date. You will be able to relive the entire sequence in a single frame, all because of an acquaintance I made on flickr, thanks to a tip from my friend WordsandBirds! As Pants On Fire flies over I will virtually fly with him. You’re invited to Come Fly With US. Rough Legged Hawk BIF #01A. The light was above and behind our friend in most of these so I had to do some digital wizardry to get these pics to look as bright as they do. Try to put together the wingbeats as the progressions occur. Rough Legged Hawk BIF #01B Rough Legged Hawk BIF #1 Rough Legged Hawk BIF #2 Closer Rough Legged Hawk BIF #3 Rough Legged Hawk BIF #4 Closer Rough Legged Hawk BIF #5 Rough Legged Hawk BIF #6 Rough Legged Hawk BIF #7. It isn’t perfect but I love this pic! Bigger Rough Legged Hawk BIF #8. He turns back into the Sun to make another tight circle. Rough Legged Hawk BIF #9 Bigger Rough Legged Hawk BIF #10 Closer Rough Legged Hawk BIF #11 Rough Legged Hawk BIF #12. Pants On Fire flies directly overhead for one last look before he heads on to the east to find a more comforting perch. East just happened to be my route toward home, so I found him sitting in this not-so-tall tree top near the road as I entered the creek bottom curves. I eased to a stop. He didn’t fly away this time, so I snapped off a few shots of a perched bird that provided instant sparkle in my viewfinder. Your viewfinder Hope you enjoyed that flight, but in the interest of variety I have one more for you. Ferrying Beck places turns out to be fruitful for getting photos. Yesterday (Feb 5) I set out to go retrieve her from a weekend at her friend’s place. On the way I had 3 Kestrel sessions, a Rough Legged session, and a Harrier session to go along with a number of Red Tail encounters. Here is my best Kestrel Flight Session It is common that I make first sighting of a bird sitting on fencepost or power poles, or powerlines. This Kestrel seemed to be hiding among the congestion of infrastructure. See the chest wound? This bird appears to be wounded and didn’t really want to fly but as I got closer changed its mind. Launching into flight is the bird’s greatest energy expenditure. Once airborne everything come easy for them. Kestrels are a falcon and one of the fastest flyers in the bird world. Peregrine are the fastest and Golden Eagles are second fastest. The bird returning to make certain I am not chasing it is something that happens frequently and provides the best chance for great BIF photos. I like to imagine it is because the bird wants to get acquainted with me. You can see it’s wound right in the center of its chest. I would hate to think someone actually shot it but that would not surprise me very much in this area of gun/kill happy goofs. However this bird seemed very spry to have been shot. Bigger By this time I’m feeling confident that I am in the midst of capturing the best Kestrel flight sequence I’ve ever been party to. Only one or two of these pics needed much in the way of processing attention. Bigger Trying to fly alongside a Kestrel would be quite an accomplishment. Bigger Apparently satisfied there is no threat our Kestrel starts making a turn toward the destination of its flight plan. To the East it goes, right toward the Wolf Creek Nuke Plant. No chance I’m following to go there! The Kestrel is flying as though its wound is no hindrance and will cover distance much quicker than I could. So while I can’t fly with a Kestrel I sure do enjoy watching them do it. That’s it for me until I get around to a Harrier pictorial. A Harrier who won’t be hungry for long. Elk Road 2/5/23 Always try to keep the light in their eyes. Good luck with that! 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