American Kestrel

Gallery: AvianPosted November 24, 201495 views3 comments

At San Tan Mountains Regional Park -- Queen Creek, Arizona

1/1250 at f10 and ISO640
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon 500mm With 1.4 TC

At first I thought the Kestrel was missing talons from his raised foot. But other pictures in the sequence show his talons and grasping the dragon fly in the knuckles of his "fist".

Taken in evening light.

Now is the picture a throw-away? The highest shadow on the tail is a shadow of the branch he is on. It gives a false impression that there are three bars on the tail. Does that false tail-bar misrepresent the bird enough to throw it out?

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on November 25, 2014 at 1:29 AM

Scott was the bird suffering with some sort of infection around the eye? The reason I ask this is I have just had A kestrel with what looks like the same problem around the eye, cracking little Falcon, don't think I would worry to much about the shadow.
Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on November 26, 2014 at 10:16 AM

Scott: the photo is fine as is. The shadow is of no concern. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy Aron on November 26, 2014 at 2:57 PM

Excellent "caught in the act" image. Maybe intensify the sky color a tad?

Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments