Harris's Hawk

[Bill Dix]

I'm told that this species likes to perch on the tops of Saguaro cacti to survey the surrounding countryside. I found this one perched on the steeple of a Presbyterian church on the outskirts of Sierra Vista, AZ. I thought it was interesting that the steeple was painted the same color as a Saguaro. Did the hawk notice? He was one of a family group of 4 that were hanging out in the neighborhood, captured here just after takeoff. A lifer for me. Although it was within an hour of sunset, the Arizona sun was still pretty strong.

D7000, 500f4 + 1.4, ISO 800, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual, gitzo and mongoose.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice frame with dynamic pose, it's a pity parts of head and eye fell in the shadow. I might sharpen the head a bit more

TFS

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Very nice image bill. Great pose and wing position. Nice colors too.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great opportunity you had here, a great way to photograph a lifer. Nice light and pose. Just a bit of ahead turn would have lit it beautifully but the hawk had other ideas I guess.

[Karl Egressy]

Harris's is Hawks like to hunt in groups. Excellent flight shot, Bill. I would try to work on the eye.

[Mervyn Marsh]

lovely flight shot, light looks nice.
I really love these raptor shots and this is great.

[shane shacaluga]

Lovely flight pose. These hawks also hunt in packs. The smaller males flush the quarry and the large females then go in for the kill. They are like a flying wolf pack

Great image. Would love to see one in the wild

TFS

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Beautiful flight image, Bill. Light direction brings out nicely textured detail. Well done.




Geoffrey

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. Here's a repost in which I've brightened up a few of the shaded areas (mostly the head), and added just a touch of selective sharpening in a few spots. I appreciate the comments.

[Binu John]

Excellent take off shot, Bill! Love the pose and the colors. The RP looks better, TFS

[shane shacaluga]

RP is an improvement. Lovely image!