Redtail + Coot

Gallery: AvianPosted December 29, 2011429 views13 comments

Alternate title:
"I am a HAWK! I hunt things to eat and feed my babies! It's what I DO!"

Merced, CA NWR
Unfortunately, taken at high noon.

D300s
500mm + TC 1.7
1/250 sec, f/8
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
Exp comp: -1/3
ISO: 250
AF mode: AF-C
White balance: AUTO
Flash: Off

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on December 29, 2011 at 8:56 PM

Eating the gizzard...a bird after my own heart!

Cool image Sandy

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on December 29, 2011 at 9:48 PM

Pretty cool, Sandy!

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on December 29, 2011 at 10:04 PM

What a wonderful action shot! You must be very proud of this shot.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on December 29, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Nice and gooey

Too bad you had such harsh light. I think you handled it well, but I always find the "nervous" bokeh distracting. Maybe mask the BG and add more blur via processing? I might also selectively darken the BG more to make the hawk standout a bit.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on December 29, 2011 at 11:00 PM

Wow, what a sight. Great capture Sandy, must have been very neat to witness.

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on December 30, 2011 at 8:17 AM

Nice catch Sandy, intense eye!

Happy New Year!

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 30, 2011 at 11:59 AM

As usual Sandy, you capture great behaviors.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on December 30, 2011 at 12:48 PM

Sandy, nice action here! I think you managed the lighting well here. This is really a cool shot!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on December 30, 2011 at 2:31 PM

YIKES! Good shot, but not exactly fun to look at!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 30, 2011 at 7:16 PM

Nice action Sandy. Live includes life and death.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on December 30, 2011 at 8:55 PM

Sandy,
Terrific find and gory to boot. You handled the over head light perfectly. I agree with Kurt about maybe trying to run some sort of blur on the background to reduce all the nervousness of the twigs and debris. Never the less, this is a super image that you must be very proud of.
By the way Sandy, it's almost time for the Western and Clarks Grebes to start breeding and running. I am heading to Lake Hodges tomorrow and will let you know what kind of bird count there is. Last year at this time there was several hundred and they double and triple clutched so it lasted until about the time you came down last year. I know Harry, Eric and Patrick would sure be interested in a photo shoot and I'll bet Charlie would be interested as well since he lives there.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on December 31, 2011 at 1:22 AM

Nummy!! I know people here who think this is what SHOULD happen to Coots (don't ask). Gruesome shot, but nice!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on December 31, 2011 at 8:30 PM

Wow Sandy pretty amazing image depicting just what these guys do. Kinda sad for me but a reality check as well. Great job.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments