California Cooper's hawk

[arash_hazeghi]

Juvenile Cooper's hawk in pursuit of a song bird, these are one of the fastest raptors on the planet, I think the fastest after peregrine falcon family. The recent fires have devastated the areas north of SF pushing the birds south. I was not expecting him as I was climbing a small hill, he popped for an instant and sped away. This is the kind of shot I'd prefer to make with my D5 since its rapid 12 fps and unlimited buffer has a higher chance of grabbing the best wing position but the gripped D850 that was in my hand didn't disappoint, the AF latching without hesitation. The image is almost 5000 pixels across post crop which is larger than a full frame D5 image making it possible to print this one very large if I want to.


Nikon D850 600 f/4 E FL + TC14E-III ISO 800 f/5.6 at 1/3200sec hand held. processed with Capture One Pro 11. Hope you like it.

[Arthur Morris]

Superb. Center Group AF? This bird is a juvenile. Might is be a Sharp-shinned Hawk? The head seems relatively small and the white tail tip seems narrow. I am not at all sure -- just trying to learn.

Perhaps Isaac or Dorian can help.

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

More learning for me/from Richard Crossley: Cooper's Hawk based on shape and breast pattern.

To learn about my 30+ year friendship with Richard and his successful ID series, click here.

with love, artie

[John Mack]

Very nice. Great all around. Nice pose with a good head angle and a great background.

[arash_hazeghi]

thanks Artie, I know it wasn't a sharpie because we don't get those in this location

and yes Grp AF, have been tryin 3D as well works well for some birds