Northern Harrier

[Isaac Grant]

Finally after what seemed like ages I was able to get a shot of a Northern Harrier. These birds are extremely elusive in New York. Always around and always staying at the periphery. A new park opened on Staten Island that used to be part of the old landfill. It has been capped and now is a sea of golden grass. I stood atop of one of the mounds for over 2 hours and finally a harrier came by. It was 9 degrees with sustained 20-25 mile per hour winds. It was right at eye level. I wish it was a bit lower to get the golden background but I am not complaining!

Canon 1DX ii with 500 f4 ii and 1.4x iii. Hand Held. ISO 1000, F7.1, SS 1/4000. Processed with DPP and PS.

[Colin Driscoll]

That's bird photography for you, and well worth the wait Isaac, lovely even exposure and detail.

[gail bisson]

Very nice Isaac.
Bird looks great with nice light.
I agree with you that a bit of something else besides blue sky would have been icing on the cake!
Lovely comp and HA.
Congrats on being a new moderator. Well deserved!
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Good one, Isaac. I know what you mean about them always appearing just out of range. You got this one with a great dorsal view and head turn. Congratulations!

[Alex Becker]

Nice one. I also can never seem to get one to come close. Nice banking pose and HA. The a bit of the golden BG you describe would've been killer but no nits on this frame, especially getting eye level with one. Sounds like tough shooting conditions as well. Congrats!

[Raybel Robles]

Great image, really like that you got the top side of the bird on a nice pose with a good HA. I have only seen these guys in Bosque and man what a struggle! I can try over and over and over and just can't seem to get a really good photo.