Watching Like a Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted February 11, 2012102 views6 comments

I walked up on this guy unexpectedly. I think it's a cooper's hawk. He didn't fly away because he was more interested in a squirrel below him than he was afraid of me. I got several good shots before he finally flew away. He didn't get the squirrel. Nikon 70-300VR zoom at 300mm, F5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 200. Click "Purchase Print" to see a larger image.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 11, 2012 at 6:05 PM

Dennis, this looks like a redtail to me, showing the classic belly band and a fairly stocky shape. I like the head on look and the branches in the scene. I'd prefer more room here for the virtual tail.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Gazso on February 11, 2012 at 6:17 PM

I thought it was a red tail at first(and maybe it is), but his tail didn't have the normal red color. From this perspective his tail wasn't visible at all behind the large branch so I just shot from the branch up.

Registered on February 5, 2012, 10 Posts, 25 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on February 11, 2012 at 8:18 PM

Agree with Brian. The idea of virtual room is that you leave room for the visible feet or tail, whether they are visible or not.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on February 11, 2012 at 9:02 PM

Dennis,
Absent the missing virtual tail and looking slightly heavy on the bottom of the frame I really like this image a lot. You certainly have nice soft light, a great head turn showing a classic head on look, and a good environment in the background. I might remove the one little stick on the right side of the frame but I also like it as is. Nice job. For what it's worth I think it's a red tail as well.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Jaymes Dempsey on February 12, 2012 at 4:36 PM

I like the head turn, and the way the colors around the hawk match the feathers. I might consider cropping or cloning out the hanging branch on the upper right. Otherwise, nice shot!
Jaymes

Registered on June 28, 2010, 47 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 12, 2012 at 5:50 PM

Nice, Dennis. I like the look the Hawk is giving you and the detail looks good in this size of image. I think I'd clone out the twig in the URC.

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