We had the pleasure of having this guy hanging out in my area for a month or more last year. He is a juvenile and he was ultra cooperative. He hunted gophers by watching for subtle movement of the dirt from the gophers underground, then he would make bombing runs at them. When he got to the exact spot he would throw his feet and talons out and hit the dirt with an explosion of soil and grass. We watched him do this lots of times but I never witnessed him score.
Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.
David
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David, this is a stunning image, beautiful wing spread, eye contact, top side, and a killer BG. Congrats! Surprised to hear that the hawk missed many times. Poor hawk! Loi
Thanks everyone for the comments. I appreciate them.
Loi,
At first I thought he was trying for insects on the ground but after a bunch of attempts I realized that he should be coming up with some of them and I didn't know why he was hitting the ground so hard.
I then figured what he was doing when I noticed dirt movement on a small mound, and so did he. He was off in a flash after the subterranean prey!!
Thanks
Come join me for a Custom Raptor Workshop starting this November 2019- January 2020.
P.M. me to inquire on dates, pricing and availabilities. Thank You. www.davidsalemphotography.com
Hi David, love the angle and look back pose. Superb detail and very nicely exposed too. One question, how big in frame is the subject in the original capture, or is this almost FF, or slight crop?
Hi David,
A real stunner, this one! Fantastic view of the top of the wings and that splayed tail - just superb.
Also enjoyed the background information on his hunting - hope he finally caught enough to get by!
I figured it was about a 30% crop so not full frame but moderately close. I caught him as he was headed back to his perch after a gopher run. This is a pretty big bird on the wing and even though he is smaller than the female of his species, they are the largest hawk (Buteo) in North America.
Thanks as always for your input.
Come join me for a Custom Raptor Workshop starting this November 2019- January 2020.
P.M. me to inquire on dates, pricing and availabilities. Thank You. www.davidsalemphotography.com
"Freddie" was a very accommodating subject and this really was a great frame with perfect head angle and wing position, layered BG is nice, hope EL Nino doesn't slow us down!
Thanks so much everyone for the comments. I'm glad you like the frame.
Come join me for a Custom Raptor Workshop starting this November 2019- January 2020.
P.M. me to inquire on dates, pricing and availabilities. Thank You. www.davidsalemphotography.com
Hi Dave, I really like the light and IQ, and you have captured an awesome flight pose with a good head turn and eye contact. I also like the banking angle showing off the full wingspread, which in turn shows up the feather detail and colours. Killer smooth OOF BG too. Very well captured.