Two is a crowd!

[dankearl]

A couple of Red shouldered Hawks (at least that is what the local birders are calling them.)
This was a long story, a true Red Tailed made the kill (I have the photo, very Red legs and tail),
It left and another hawk showed up, followed by another and eventually a third (I may post all three some time).
Too dark to get them flying in, Raining at the time, this was the lowest Iso I used, I went to 3200 after a bit.

1/800, f5.6, iso 2000, 500mm, D800, HH

DSC_3710bp2.jpg

[Karl Egressy]

Sounds like it was a very eventful outing. Nice behaviour shot, Dan. I like the way you can see the eyes of both bird and the way they seem to be slightly confused but I'm sure they are not.

[Roy Priest]

Very nice getting both of them together. Maybe they are siblings? These are two immature RT's.

[laurie golden]

DAn,

Very nice to get the pair. I am surprised they are both so sharp at 5.6. What are they looking at, it looks like they have part of a meal between them.

[John Cooper]

A great image Dan and excellent IQ at ISO 2000. A real bonus to get this pair featured in the composition. Sharp, well exposed and evidence of a kill tells the story.

[dankearl]

I guess I did not make it clear, that is the remains of a bird they are fighting over.
I have many more graphic photo's of this pair and more eating the prey.
Thanks for the comments. The foreground hawk had the meal, the more aggressive one flew in
and took over.
It was a challenge to get them both in focus in low light, thus the high ISO.
I was lucky to get them sharp at that aperture.

[Shawn Zierman]

Aside from eagles and vultures and caracaras, I cannot recall an image of North American Raptors sharing the same table space like this. For that reason, I find the image fascinating. I think the head and body angle of the bird on the right could be better, but it's really negated by the uniqueness of the capture.

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,well done on getting them both sharp,like the rain drop on the end of the beak,on the right hand bird.thanks.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, interesting story. Good shooting angle, both Hawks sharp, and good DOF on the whole image. It seems you had a great sighting here, and look forward to the sequences.

[Grace Scalzo]

My initial id was juvenile Red tails and I see that Roy agrees. Very unique capture, full of interest. I am on a calibrated monitor and I do think that the grass could use a bit of desaturation and a trim from the bottom is a consideration. I would love to see more of this series, if you would be so kinds as to share it.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image under challenging conditions. Look forward too seeing more of this series. Well done Dan!

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of behavior in habitat.I like the sharpness, HA and expression of hawks.

Regards,
Satish.