Sparrowhawk with prey

[William Dickson]

Canon 5D Mk3
f/4 500mm
f/7.1
1/1600
ISO 1250

This morning I walked towards my usual perch at the local harbour to photograph eider and goldeneye. I got all set up and ready to start. I had a walk towards the entrance of the harbour, to see if any duck were there, when my attention was drawn to this sparrowhawk which was eating a pigeon under a bush. I ran back, grabbed my lens from the tripod, ran back to discover the sparrowhawk was still there Infact, his attention was fully on his prey so I managed to capture lots of photos

I moved about, but couldn't get a better background

Thanks for looking at my first Sparrowhwawk

[John Robinson]

That's a cracker Will. Nice low viewpoint (Crikey !! coming from me.) Twigs make a nice frame too.
Well grabbed !
John

[Joe Murphy]

Well seen & very nicely captured, that's a healthy looking crop on this Sparrowhawk

[keith mitchell]

William looks like it's had a tussle with it's prey,still it's got it's crop full ,cracking shot.


Keith.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the prey and the drama, sharp with good details. I might leave more room around and clone out the distracting twigs on the upper border

TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi William, top marks on this, great POV, you handled the situation extremely well and your PP looks really good. These guys don't normally hang around and are extremely skittish, my one is decimating my bird life at the other house and rarely stays after the kill. You should be well chuffed with this William, might even warrant a wee dram perhaps too .

If you can, apply Arash's thoughts, will certainly move this up the ladder.

WWD.

TFS
Steve

[Steve Canuel]

Like the eye contact, detail and how the dark BG sets off the well lit subject.

[Ian Wilson]

Great capture William and thanks for the back story. Good advice from Arash re cropping and cleaning up the frame. Regards, Ian

[Satish Ranadive]

Absolutely superb moment captured. Excellent image.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Great find William. I agree about more room around and some cloning of the distracting twigs. The details and techs look great.. Well done

[Jonathan Ashton]

Super shot love the natural setting, the timing and detail are exceptionally good, certainly one to be proud of - look forward to seeing more!

[shane shacaluga]

Nice encounter

The ones in my area dont hang about either so you have been extremely lucky. Its a first year bird so probably has more hunger than sense :D

Nice touch added by the plucked feathers in the BG and ruffled feathers. I guess it was quite windy

TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Hi William, congrats on your first of this fellow, and just love your low angle here. You have captured good detail, sharp, and I like the feathers in the beak from eating.

[William Dickson]

Thanks for the comments guys Much appreciated

[Binu John]

Great find and shot, William! Love the details and the prey. Well done.