The Birds

I had a field trip with the bro and mom early this morning. We found these red-winged blackbirds just off the road in a field in Russellville.

Canon 7D
300mm w/1.4x
1/1250 @ f/6.3
ISO 400
no crop

Here's a hawk from today too

cropped vertical

That's a mess of blackbirds Aaron! And if your subject for the second shot was in the neighborhood, that could get them moving like this in a hurry.

Loving the the shot of the hawk. I was doing some bird shooting myself today around Lake Conway. As long as you don't mind here are a few from my morning. The last one is of some pelicans that are not normal visitors to Lake Conway.

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Those Redwing Blackbirds are amazing in Winter. I once tracked a group that was about 5 miles long.

Nice shots. Wouldn't want to have my car parked under that mess of red-winged blackbirds!

That shot of the hawk is outstanding!

I like them both, but the hawk is really nice!

Next time that you see a hawk watching the blackbirds, follow him if you can. He'll dive into the thick of it and come out with a meal. I tried several time last year to follow the hawk and never got him splitting the group and coming out the other side with a bird. I saw him do it several times while observing, but not on camera. If you wait till the black birds turn on their sides, you will get the redwing markings.
Lake Dardanelle is full of Pelicans this time of the year. They usaully hang out in groups of 50-100 birds. I've never seen them on Lake Conway.

Hey Aaron, your hawk isolation is really nice!

Matt- Nice shots! We go down to the Dam in Russellville to shoot pelicans and blue herons. Birds are hard to shoot... I get pissed off at them when you're about to shoot them and then they fly away!

Ken- These were definitely not 5 miles long. That would be crazy!

Mike- I got a shot when they were on there sides, but it wasn't as thick. I love the sounds they make when flying together.

Nice shots Aaron; good job catching the hawk against a dark background I've seen pelicans in the Arkansas River at Van Buren.

Aaron, the hawk image is awesome! The color pallet is incredible and the grass in focus really adds to the image. Wow!

Two great ones, Aaron. The blackbirds so remind me of the Hitchcock movie. The hawk capture is especially good with the dark BG. Nice work on both shots!