Nest-Building Caracara

[Doug Brown]

BPN member Gary Rouleau came upon two Crested Caracaras building a nest early one morning during our Costa Rica trip. We picked a spot that was somewhat concealed with as favorable a sun angle as we could get, and had a great time photographing them for close to an hour.



Canon 1D Mark III, 500mm + 1.4x, f/5.6, 1/640, ISO 800, no flash, hand held

[Daniel Cadieux]

You guys spotted a good opportunity and knew how to work with it. I'm sure you wish the body and wings were better lit but from you wrote it seems like this was the best light angle you could get. I like the motion blur...great sense of movement.

[Steve Maxson]

I like the action/behavior that you captured, Doug and the slight blur in the wings does give a nice sense of motion. Good sharpness elsewhere and a nice background. I would wish for a better light angle, but as you say, this was the best you could do under the circumstances.

[Stu Bowie]

Doug, I like the light cast over the head, with good sharp detail and colours. Super BG, and his building material a bonus. You guys must of captured thousands of images on your trip to Costa Rica.

[Tony Whitehead]

Perfect focus - I like the light on the face and the upward gaze. Nesting material tells the story.

[Kobus Tollig]

I like it well done. Great pose moment bg and detail. Pity about light direction but still works.

[Doug Brown]

The problem with the light was that the birds were flying back and forth directly into the sun due to the nest location; there was no chance to get them sidelit.