Happy Halloween!

[arash_hazeghi]

This photograph shows a Swainson's hawk preying on bats after sunset. Every evening, millions of bats come out of this cave in pursuit of insects at a lake nearby, the flock of flying bats paints a dark trail in the sky stretching for miles as far as the eye can see. Swaison's hawks approach from above diving at bats. The bats can only detect what's in front of them by echo (they can't quite see) so the hawks can easily snatch them from behind. Each hawk consumes tens of bats in flight until it is full. I photographed these bats with Doug and a few other friends back in summer in NM. It was extremely challenging as the bats came out minutes before sunset and with thick clouds in the sky we started shooting at ISO 5000 and after a few minutes we were at 50,000!, Almost like shooting flight shots at night. I was surprised my camera was even locking focus in such low light. Predictably, keepers were very few and had some flaws. Nevertheless, this was an impressive sight and an experience like nothing else.

I hope you enjoy this frame despite the flaws, and happy Halloween!

the hawk is holding a bat in his talons.




1D-X 600 II. ISO 6400. Ff/4 at 1/1250sec. hand held.

[dankearl]

Big kudos for creativity and execution under the conditions.
Way to stretch the boundaries.....

[christopher galeski]

very nice image under conditions you have explained,wish I had took it,well done and TFS.

[keith mitchell]

Just shows what modern gear and the person with the knowledge to use it can do, fantastic work Arash.

Keith.

[gail bisson]

Love it! Happy Halloween ( a bit late).
What a cool event to witness TFS

[Bill Dix]

Quite an amazing shot under the circumstances. Well done and thanks for sharing.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Wonderful image Arash!

Not only a great behavioural frame but so much to look at, well processed and composed too, what a pleasure to view, TFS!

Kind regards,

[Joseph Przybyla]

Kudo's to your skill in capturing this image. Most of us would not have attempted. Thank you for sharing, Arash.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hey Arash, not sure what 'flaws' you are refuting too, looks awesome to me, a real belter of an image!!!!

TFS
Steve

[David Salem]

Killer Arash!! I wanted to go with you guys but work got in the way. II know you and Doug said it was tough but this looks great.
A beautiful male Swainson's with a bat in its feet??
A frame that will always bring you back to that evening. Nice job

[Daniel Cadieux]

How cool is that! Tricks AND treats! Sounds like you guys had a blast...this frame was well worth it.

[Amy Marques]

Crazy beautiful, Arash! Love everything about it!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Incredible image in all aspects. Must've been an experience to witness and you nailed this shot.
Thanks for sharing!

[Robert Kimbrell]

Amazing capture. Great skill, sounds like a very difficult shot.

[Marina Scarr]

This is a pretty powerful image and tells such an amazing story. Was David accurate about the raptor having a bat in its talons? Love the way what little light you had shone on the bird. This is a contest image.

[supreet.sahoo]

I had only read about hawks (and other raptors) preying on bats but this is probably the first image of it! This is insane ! Great job Arash under such challenging conditions.

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks everyone,

Marina, Dave is right the hawk has a bat in its talons

best