Northern Harrier

[Joe Ford]

Caught this male Northern Harrier, yesterday, preening himself on a post a short ways off the road. He posed for a while until a female flew by and ran him off.

Canon 1DmkIII
Canon EF500 f4 with 1.4 TC
ISO 400
f11 1/640
Aperture Priority
+2/3 exposure comp

Window mount from car.
Light was pretty much high and behind me with some light cloud cover.

[Stephen Stephen]

Joe I love the intense stare he's giving you. The out of place feathers look a bit odd but I know that you said he had been preening. Some people might be tempted to clone them out but I believe that they tell part of the story of this bird.

[John Blumenkamp]

Good looking image of this guy Joe... I like the feathers too - gives this a unique feel. Nice work.

[Raymond Barlow]

fantastic image Joe, we don't often see the harriers perched so nicely around here, usually in a tree hundreds of yards off the road., congrats on a fine image... maybe just a little more room on top.

[Juan Aragonés]

This one is outstanding Joe, Love the fantastic rendering and details of the feathers and the stare of the bird with that great head turn. I would prefer a more clean BG but man I really like this one. Very good job

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like this alot. This Harrier turned it's head pefectly for you. I love the stray feathers (I notice there is one stuck on the fence too). Aren't the males pale gray??

[Paul Lagasi]

I don't know how many times I wished I'd see a Harrier sitting on a post, usually they are flying or in a field..like it a lot, sharpness, the stare, looks evil...yes Dan your right males grey, females brown...Paul

[Joe Ford]

Thanks for the encouraging comments. I think this particular bird is an immature male that is still displaying some brown. In flight, the grey coloring was more apparent and when chased by the female the size differential was obvious.

[Tony House]

Love the pose and the feather detail looks great.....

Nice work.
Tony