Mated Pair

Gallery: AvianPosted March 19, 2010134 views6 comments

I had the opportunity to spend the day last Tuesday at the Guana River WMA in Jacksonville. Armed with my new nature walk-around lens I set out to discover the refuge.
I was fortunate to run into a gentleman from Greenland who had come upon this mating pair as they were building their nest. We met after lunch and headed out to find the pair in late afternoon light, and as we were approaching the site I noticed quite a bit of commotion in the sky about the nest site. We both witnessed the male Osprey running off a Bald Eagle from the nest, but as you might have guessed we were totally caught by surprise and not set up for a shot.
I was able to capture the couple a bit later resting on a perch a few yards from where they were building their nest.
Thanks for looking, comments/critiques appreciated.

D300
300mm f2.8
TC-14E II
1/2000 @ f4
ISO 400
420mm

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 19, 2010 at 9:37 PM

Great capture!
Nice colors, perch, and clean BG.
The pair together is lovely. I wonder how a vertical comp might have worked here?
Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on March 19, 2010 at 10:33 PM

Good capture! I am like Sandy. What would a vertical comp do for the picture? I would love to have seen the eagle and the osprey togather. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on March 19, 2010 at 10:41 PM

Thanks all for the comments. Sandy and Jack - I had thought of a vertical comp initially but had concerns about cropping without cutting off a tree limb on the left or clipping feathers off from the right. I'll play with the image to see what happens.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 19, 2010 at 11:37 PM

Neat image, Chuck. I like the poses and composition. Nice sharp image. This really shows the differences between the sexes in this species.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 20, 2010 at 1:40 PM

Very nice capture, Chuck. I like to see them side by side. Lovely image!

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on March 21, 2010 at 7:03 PM

Charles:
I like having both members of the pair in the shot with the similar poses and the nice eye contact with both. Exposure looks good. I see a little sharpening halo on the left side of the bird on the left and around the tail of the bird on the right. You should be able to repair that easily. Congrats on the new lens.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments