Bosque Kestrel

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2015208 views14 comments

December 31, 2014 Keith Bauer and I finished our three day trip to Bosque del Apache taking shots of various birds throughout the park. We observed this Kestrel at various perches near the entry and hoped to catch some shots. He was very accommodating finally arriving on a post with a bird he had caught. We had the opportunity to take many shots while he calmly ate.

Nikon D4 Nikkor 600mm ISO400 1/800 f/6.3 White Balance Auto RAW Shot handheld from the window of Keith's car. Processed in Lightroom, PhotoshopCC2014, TK and NIK.

Your comments are appreciated.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on January 5, 2015 at 11:29 AM

Great image, Patrick. I think that the composition is just perfect, and the muted colors and tones are very pleasant. I would not make it any brighter!!

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Frye on January 5, 2015 at 12:09 PM

Very nice Kestrel shot -- I like the muted colors

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on January 5, 2015 at 1:27 PM

I like the soft even subdued light, really shows off his feathers well without any shadows. Looks like he tenderized his meal thoroughly and must not mind the extra white sauce (yuck) from the obviously popular perch. Has anyone named this guy yet? Thanks for sharing it Patrick.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on January 5, 2015 at 2:18 PM

Beautiful shot of the Kestrel. Nice pose and excellent detail.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on January 5, 2015 at 4:16 PM

Patrick the large one shows excellent detail and sharpness, agree composition is spot on.

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

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on January 5, 2015 at 5:33 PM

Any idea what kind of bird he has. It looks like a bunched up mess. Curious...was this a big crop? Background is sweet. Nice capture Patrick.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on January 5, 2015 at 6:22 PM

Hi Patrick,

I like the darker background and soft lighting and you probably can get some data off the band on the kestrel's leg. How far was the bird from where to took the photo? Well done...................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 5, 2015 at 6:23 PM

Steve,
The bird is likely a Sparrow based on the size, beak and color. Other photos displayed the bird graphically, which I chose to not use. I did not want to gross anyone out. This is a fair sized crop, but not huge. Thanks for asking.

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

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 5, 2015 at 6:29 PM

Jim,
I guess we were about 50 feet from the bird, perhaps a little less. Keith Bauer and I were together, perhaps he has a better idea of the distance. If you are interested in the band I will blow it up and see if I can get the info.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 5, 2015 at 8:23 PM

This was a great encounter that Patrick and I had at the Bosque. The kestrel was intent on his meal and allowed us to shoot for quite a while. Fortunately, no other cars came by as this post was right along the road.

For me, the image as presented needed a bit of an adjustment to bring up the overall luminance and a bit of mid tone contrast. The histogram as presented didn't have any tones near the lighter tones present in the image. Here's my adjustment. I shared this with Patrick before posting here and shared my thoughts.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 5, 2015 at 8:50 PM

Keith's iteration is clearly better than what I did on my own. That's why he gets the big bucks. Thank you Keith for showing me what is possible.

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 6, 2015 at 12:07 AM

Cool shot, Patrick. I prefer your post; in my experience, K-birds aren't quite as bright as Keith's adjusted version shows.

If any of your shots gives you the band number or part of the band number on the jewelry this pretty lady is wearing, send it to the USGS Bird Banding Lab in Patuxent.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on January 7, 2015 at 3:48 PM

Hi Patrick, based on the perch it appears to be well used, LOL.

I like the framing and great that the subject was there long enough for you to get some frames in. I think Keith's repost is better for colour, but looking at the larger image posted, it does lack some detail but for me, sharpness. I note you said this is a crop so perhaps to some degree the image has suffered a little. Hope you get more opportunities to photograph this subject.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 8, 2015 at 2:53 AM

A real beauty! I think this must be the same kestrel that was hanging around by the first-second big tree by the entry to the Visitor Center when I was there. Amazingly cooperative bird!
Love the muted colours, great BG and prey.
Sandy

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