Marsh Hawk

I like that sky but the picture suffers a bit from the head turn -- I would wish to have a better view of the head and eye in this flight shot.

Jerry,

It would help us all to give you better and more thorough critiques if you posted your gear and the settings you used, without it we are just guessing. The sky is lovely but I agree with Scott on the head turn. This looks like it may have been taken in midday light because of the shadows, I would suggest trying to photograph in early morning, late afternoon or diffused light for a better exposure and that also might help to eliminate the blown whites on the wing. The "Gray Ghost" is a challenge to expose properly but good light helps.

Nikon 5000
F9
1/1250
Auto W/B
55-200

Had my truck on cruise-control leaning across and shooting out the passenger window. I always try for A.M. shooting, but you grab a pic whenever/wherever it presents itself. Such a stunning raptor!

Nice to see another Long Island photographer posting some bird shots.... there are usually a couple Grey Ghosts along that stretch but I can never get this close to one. Cant believe you got this with a 200mm lens along there. There is a notieceable halo particularly around the tail and it would be nice if the bird were looking toward the camera but for a grey this is a good shot.

Thanks Luke! I was lucky that there was no traffic on Ocean Parkway. It was amazing watching him glide over the brush hunting. I just got a Mac and use Aperture...What causes the halo?