Swainson's Juvies

Gallery: AvianPosted August 14, 2011356 views23 comments

Olympus E5, 150mm, 2xTC, f5, 1/400, ISO100 handheld out vehicle window

Found these two Swainson's juveniles on the same posts that I have taken shots of the parents on my "owl road". The parents were up in the sky squawking at these two - assumably to fly away - but they sat tight for me for a bit. The wind was blowing a bit and they had to hold on tight at times, and the sun was going in and out behind clouds. They are looking up at the parents in the sky here. The bg is a hay field with the large round bales in it, and it is sloped...the birds are straight with the true horizon.

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on August 14, 2011 at 10:11 PM

So cute! What great poses from the pair. I also really like the two-tiered perches. Love how they're looking up towards the parents.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 14, 2011 at 10:35 PM

Great catch! I love the poses and the colour variations .
My only suggestion would be to clone out that dark circle areas on the right, as they really draw my eye from these neautiful hawks.
Nice!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on August 14, 2011 at 10:46 PM

A-mazing moment, love the poses and overall quality and composition, congrats wish I have that in my portfolio.....

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on August 14, 2011 at 11:28 PM

I love this, Dave! the matched poses, the stair-step perch, and the interesting variations on juvenile plumage are all super. really sharp and nice detail. I like Sandy's idea about getting rid of the dark circle, but this is just great.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 14, 2011 at 11:35 PM

I love the matching poses, Dave and the composition is great.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on August 15, 2011 at 12:20 AM

Charming and very interesting.

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

Comment posted by Mohammad Hosseini on August 15, 2011 at 8:03 AM

Very interesting shot and something must have been going on, on their upper right side on the air.

Registered on May 16, 2011, 15 Posts, 301 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on August 15, 2011 at 9:02 AM

This is an exceptional image. Matched poses, staggered height and lifted foot all combine for a winner. 150mm?? Did these guys have superglue on their feet. No bird in Texas sits still like this.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on August 15, 2011 at 9:05 AM

This is a quite fantastic shot. The perch and pose are scrumptious. Thumbs up, Dave.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Bob McQuade on August 15, 2011 at 10:01 AM

This is a bit of a nit, because I think this is a very neat image, but I would consider a little cropping of the left and top to balance it out and would think about cloning out the OOF black dot on the right. A wonderful shot, great detail, and the heads looking skyward as if watching a demo of some hunting technique is priceless. Great DOF and BG, very well executed!

Registered on October 8, 2009, 214 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 15, 2011 at 11:54 AM

David, I like this a lot! Getting both of them looking into the same direction is what really makes this work even better. My only tiny little nit is it seems it might need a little CC rotation (maybe only 3 - 4%) by looking at the feet, but then again the BG might be playing tricks on my eyes since it is a bit diagonal, so I would really need to break out a ruler to say for sure.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on August 15, 2011 at 12:44 PM

Great capture with the identical poses. I do find the background with the different levels a little distracting.

Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on August 15, 2011 at 3:34 PM

I like the almost identical poses and the offsetting height of the posts. Nice capture and comp.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on August 15, 2011 at 4:05 PM

Wonderful young birds. Look like they are contemplating their next meal. Wonderful job getting both birds sharp.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on August 15, 2011 at 4:22 PM

Dave don't change a thing its super i like the way the bird on the left as got its foot raised and both birds looking skywards.

Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on August 15, 2011 at 4:33 PM

Wow, excellent shot, what a wonderful road you have found. The pose, upward looks and plumage are great, the larger version was a pleasure to view, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Rajan Desai on August 15, 2011 at 4:59 PM

Awesome. Love the synchronized pose. Great capture.

Registered on March 25, 2005, 32 Posts, 395 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on August 15, 2011 at 10:41 PM

Exceptional image, very well presented. Congrats on this! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Dusty Veideman on August 16, 2011 at 11:31 PM

This will add nicely to your collection Dave! You're pretty lucky or there are a lot of posts with birds on them!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 295 Posts, 547 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on August 17, 2011 at 9:43 PM

I love their poses! It looks like you have some good detail in the feathers. I really like how the one on the left has his leg lifted up a bit.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Lusk on August 18, 2011 at 8:18 AM

Excellent, job, Dave! Small nits already mentioned hardly affect this beauty.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 312 Posts, 600 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on August 19, 2011 at 2:21 PM

Missed this earlier, David - excellent capture! So nice to see these juveniles because I saw adults migrating through Anza Borrego Desert State Park in the spring. Perhaps the parents of these come up from South America through California.

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

Comment posted by Harry Harris on November 30, 2011 at 8:16 PM

David, all has been said. Great image which I have enjoyed looking at. Thanks for posting it.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments