Secretary Bird

Taken in Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 17th December 2009

EOS 1D MkIII

500mm F4 IS hand-held

F5.6, ISO 400, 1/3200 (I was anticipating take off)

odd birds but I love getting a chance to see and photograph them.
pops nicely and like the intent pose looking for prey. your exposure is spot on with superb details.

did you do a road trip to Karoo NP and MZNP?

this bird has some awesome looks , techs spot on like the pose very much
TFS

Lovely shot Ken. Excellent details and hunting pose.

Lovely habitat shot indeed! Maybe just some more room on the right.

Loved the bird, the natural pose with the environ showing well adds to this..

I'm assuming this is hunting behavior; the included habitat works well here. That's a very purposeful stare. Nice exposure and sharpness. I might lighten the eye a little.

Morkel,

Yes we did a road trip to three parks in the Karoo, my trip report is ready for upload when the facility starts.

Doug

This raptor is now renamed as the "Long Legged Ground Eagle", which for obvious reasons is ignored!
It hunts mainly on the ground and likes snakes a lot.

Seasons Greetings to all, and thanks for your comments