Northern Harrier with Large Crop

[Bill Dix]

My wife and I went for a walk on Tuesday evening. At the turn-around point we stopped to admire the scenery, and I spotted a dark blob concealed in the tall grass. On closer inspection with my bins, it turned out to be a Northern Harrier munching on what I believe was a field mouse. I pointed the lens and waited. And waited. And waited, until more than 30 minutes later the harrier finally decided to take off. After a long, tedious wait, that's usually the moment that I have chosen to look away for a second. But this time I grabbed a bunch of frames, one of which had a good wing position. I didn't realize until I was back home how well the image illustrated the full-crop condition resulting from her having dined on the mouse to her hearts content.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 1000, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual. Added bit of canvas right and top.

[Doug Brown]

Hey Bill. Like your sharpness and light. Good underwing detail too. Only wish for a better head angle.

[Isaac Grant]

Agree with Doug about the angle. Pretty good for a big crop as well. I still have zero luck with these birds.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Very nice wing position and light. Agree with the HA but I know we can't get it every time. Well done. Your patience did pay off!

[Bill Dix]

Thanks all. Isaac, this isn't a particularly large crop; the image as posted is approximately 70% of full width. It is the bird's crop that is enlarged here, not the image.

[Isaac Grant]

Sorry about that. Didn't read what you wrote carefully enough. Still don't know how you manage to get so close to harriers.