Harris's Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted December 4, 2009345 views27 comments

We had a great experience photographing young Harris's Hawks at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tuscon recently. 2 young birds perched on a fence line very close to us and then proceeded to take off toward us. This is the first shot after lift. It was a little tight on the top, so I added some canvas there. About 60% of frame.

MkIII 500F4 1/1600 F6.3, iso 640, Handheld

Comments

27 comments

Comment posted by Avi Hirschfield on December 4, 2009 at 3:32 PM

Fantastic shot The concentration in the eyes and the wing feathers curving in like that.
Pity about the fence

Registered on November 1, 2003, 518 Posts, 2114 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 4, 2009 at 3:34 PM

What awesome looking bird's Harris's hawks are. Great shot of this one Nate. Wonderful light and a great position. I like it!

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Cope on December 4, 2009 at 3:36 PM

Outstanding shot. What a great pose

Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 4, 2009 at 3:53 PM

Fantastic

Loving the curved in wings. This is a shot I've wanted to get ever since I saw how merlins "hopped" off their perches when they begin their pursuit. The canvas addition is flawless and the crop held up nicely

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Ákos Lumnitzer on December 4, 2009 at 3:57 PM

Love the pose and intense stare looking forward. I really don't mind the fence, especially that it looks rusty. Including man-made elements tastefully works well for me at all times.

Registered on April 24, 2004, 25 Posts, 510 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on December 4, 2009 at 3:58 PM

I know you could get rid of that barbed wire if you wanted to Nate

, but on looking at it again , I think it adds to the whole ' springing into action' feel.

What a beautiful Hawk that is ...

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on December 4, 2009 at 4:33 PM

Excellent timing and techs, Nate.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on December 4, 2009 at 4:53 PM

Sweet shot. Well done.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on December 4, 2009 at 5:25 PM

Great pose and great details on the subject. I don't mind the fence.

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on December 4, 2009 at 6:24 PM

Fantastic! That's all there is to say, simply fantastic. You captures the essence of the raptor perfectly.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on December 4, 2009 at 6:54 PM

Superb action Nate

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on December 4, 2009 at 7:06 PM

Great action, beautiful light.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 4, 2009 at 7:27 PM

Pretty neat Nate - unusual to get the wings so tight to the body on takeoff like this and I reallly like the light, eye contact and flared tail. The wire doesn't bother me a whit but I'm an old farm boy...

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen on December 4, 2009 at 8:12 PM

Great take off image. I love how the wings just curl in front of the body.

Registered on November 11, 2007, 42 Posts, 803 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 4, 2009 at 8:48 PM

great shot--love the curved in primaries, and the PP looks good to me.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on December 4, 2009 at 9:26 PM

Wonderful action Nate.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on December 4, 2009 at 10:21 PM

Quite a fantastic BIF capture, Nate. Talk about an action pose! I'm fine with the fence. However, I find that the leg on the right and his beak seem very bright. I'm not sure, but perhaps you lost some detail there.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 4, 2009 at 10:27 PM

Thanks for your comments everyone, Steve I toned those areas down a little bit but it probably needs more. It's interesting I set the evaluative metering to -0.3 which I thought would be about right with a dark bird against a dark bg but the whole image was a little brighter than I expected and I had to reduce the exposure during raw conversion and do a highlight adjustment to bring down the areas that you brought up.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 4, 2009 at 10:30 PM

W!!! Awesome photo Nate!!! Love that detail!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on December 4, 2009 at 11:12 PM

That is an awesome looking hawk and image. I can't find any evidence of adding canvas..good job. The fence just tells part of the story here & isn't a distraction at all IMO.

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on December 4, 2009 at 11:17 PM

Wow - what a great air moment you've caught, Nate.

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on December 5, 2009 at 1:04 AM

Well done capturing him so sharp and fully cleared of the wire. Hasn't yet opened his wings, interesting compact shape to the body. I'm impressed that even with the contrasty type light you were able to not blow the whites and also have nice detail in the darker regions. Interesting raptor we sure don't see often on the site.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on December 5, 2009 at 12:42 PM

Wow! Incredible capture, Nate; the pose, shutter speed and dark green background - everything works.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 5, 2009 at 2:52 PM

Sweetwater is the easiest and most reliable place in southern AZ for this species. Great position.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Laura Stafford on December 5, 2009 at 7:31 PM

Amazing photo. I love the detail. I like the fact that you captured him on lift off.

Registered on November 3, 2009, 52 Posts, 375 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on December 6, 2009 at 10:47 AM

I love the curved wing positions. A wonderful image in many ways including the light and your feather details but it is those curved wings that hold my attention. Neat.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Reed Bowman on December 6, 2009 at 4:53 PM

great shot, wonderful pose, exciting action!!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 166 Posts, 1058 Comments