Whilst working a colony of sand martins from a hide, this Sparrow hawk would come several times a day and either pluck a young one at the tunnel entrance or pick dead ones off the floor. It was amazing to watch. He would come along the cliff face(sand quarry) the suddenly turn 90 degrees and shoot a leg out to grab anything available. The chick in the picture is one he took off the floor. Not too nice to sit and watch from a hide - but nature and all that. Once the chicks fall on the floor you can,t put them back as its impossible to know which hole they fell out of.
The pale area at the bottom is a puddle of rain water
Nikon D200
Sigma 50-500mm
640 ISO
200th sec @f8
Nearly full frame
ev down 1
PP in paint shop pro- levels
Thanks for comments on last pic.
Cheers
Fabulous shot, John. Great head turn, details, comp, colors, and subject. Head looks good and sharp. Were it mine (he said wishfully), I'd be tempted to run some NR on the background and maybe just a touch of selective sharpening on the wing.
Hi Bill
Here's a epost. Should really have done the NR on the original and sharpening but tied up at the moment.
I think its a bit better anyway.
Thanks
John
Nice capture John. Great HA and I like the pose as he stands on his plucking post. I also like that we can see the little Martin's head well. The repost looks better. Very nice shot!
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John, You nailed it. I really like the fact that the feathers of the martin,are fading away,giving you a real sense of being there. Everything works great together.
I would remove that funny looking triangle just above the left side of the perch, and the other two feathers on the top edge of the frame.
A super shot John, the freshly plucked feathers drifting of in the wind makes for a good sense of action. Like the weathered perch for the scene, well done.
Life and Death Part 2
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