Gyrfalcon Hunting

[Raymond Lee]

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Alberta Terminals Ltd., Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Canon EOS 7D | Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS + Kenko 1.4x Teleplus PRO 300 DGX + Canon Extender EF 1.4x II.
Manual mode, 1/3200 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800, handheld.

The grain terminal where the Pigeons feed and stay has always been the attraction to birders and photographers. I posted a closeup hit two years ago here (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/95346-Prairie-Falcon-with-its-Prey?p=773003&viewfull=1#post773003). This year, we have the Gyrfalcon appearing most of the time, and the Prairie Falcon will sneak in once in awhile if the Gyrfalcon is not around. When the Gyrfalcon is serious about hunting, a pigeon is caught in the matter of seconds after taking off from the building and diving into the flock of pigeons.

All C&Cs are welcome!

Thanks,
Raymond

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Superb stuff, Raymond. Leaves me wondering what happened next, if the targeted dove lived to see another day or if the falcon had a good dinner.

[Raymond Lee]

Superb stuff, Raymond. Leaves me wondering what happened next, if the targeted dove lived to see another day or if the falcon had a good dinner.

I like to build suspense! Mind you BPN is the first to see this image. :w3

[Sidharth Kodikal]

I like to build suspense! Mind you BPN is the first to see this image. :w3

I like images (and books and movies ...) that leave you wondering. Suspense works for me and I was trying to point it out as a positive in your image; wasn't necessarily asking you to divulge what happened next :-)

[Raymond Lee]

I like images (and books and movies ...) that leave you wondering. Suspense works for me and I was trying to point it out as a positive in your image; wasn't necessarily asking you to divulge what happened next :-)

No worries! Thanks for your comments! :S3:

[William Dickson]

Wow, fantastic shot Raymond :cheers:

[Robert Kimbrell]

Really nice exciting shot. That falcon is just beautiful. I love the markings and pose.

[arash_hazeghi]

what a crazy action! looks like the pigeons were attacking the falcon!

[Marina Scarr]

This is pretty interesting, and I can't wait for the next clip!!! It almost appears as though he is "lying in wait" in the sky for a pigeon to fly right into those deadly talons.

[vishaljadhav]

Hey wonderful capture Raymond, looks superb
Action work great, waiting for the next frame

[Bill Dix]

Great capture, Raymond. Love the gyrfalcon's position. Hope to see more.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Raymond, I gotta say that that is one cool assortment of birds and poses in one frame. The position of the gyr is amazing (though I wish that we had as good a look at the near underwing as we do of the far underwing.... That would have been a win/win as it would have eliminated the shadow of the falcon's foot on the far wing.... All in all, spectacular.

[Iain Barker]

Terrific image Raymond.
IQ is excellent and it's not very often we see hunting shots like this. If I had to critique I wish the bottom pigeon wasn't behind the Gry's wing. Not that I have had anything near this quality.

TFS
Iain

[Daniel Cadieux]

What a fantastic bird chase scene you got here!! I love that critical focus is on the falcon. Thanks for sharing man, way cool!!

[Raymond Lee]

A follow-up to some of the suggestions here. While it would be fairly easy to remove the pigeon behind the underwing, I think I'm going to leave it there. I also agree that a good view of the underwing would be nice. Looking at the image again, I remove all the shadows on the Gyr completely via a combination of Curves and Colour Balance. Here's the re-edit:

138479

Thanks,
Raymond

[kevin Hice]

Just if anyone is interested this is a passage gyr or first year bird more than likely a female cant say for sure its hard to tell the size for sure .For what ever reason never seem to see gyrkins that far south.What perplexes me is gyrs never do well on pigeons in captivity .It is a pure death sentence you have to wonder if the wild birds meet the same fate? Also a dark phase bird.

[Arthur Morris]

Nice job on the shadow removal! An amazing capture.

[Iain Barker]

Terrific image Raymond.
IQ is excellent and it's not very often we see hunting shots like this. If I had to critique I wish the bottom pigeon wasn't behind the Gry's wing. Not that I have had anything near this quality.

TFS
Iain

I wouldn't remove the pigeon either. I was just meaning in a ideal world it would've been good if it was just clear of the pigeon.
Your repost makes a fantastic image even better.

Iain

[keith mitchell]

It would be impossible for me to find any fault with this incredible image.

Keith.