Northern Harrier

Gallery: AvianPosted December 27, 2012887 views14 comments

This adult male had just lifted off from the bush below him. I do wish I'd have been just a little closer but I still liked the shot.

7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shot from pickup window on 4/9/12, cropped to 50% of original image, slight exposure adjustment in ACR, no additional processing or adjustments, natural light, no bait, no decoy, not set up or called in

Larger version provided

Comments/critique appreciated

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Tjie Poo on December 27, 2012 at 5:20 PM

Absolutely beautiful Ron ! Love the eye.

Registered on December 4, 2012, 51 Posts, 511 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 27, 2012 at 7:15 PM

Really nice Ron. Great light, BG, and detail. Love those males.

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

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on December 27, 2012 at 7:59 PM

Wonderful light and colors, Ron. Nice that you got the full head. I really like the liftoff pose.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on December 27, 2012 at 11:13 PM

Beautiful. I love that silver/gray color of the male.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on December 28, 2012 at 2:25 AM

Nice one Ron, over here we hardly get to see any males, for some reason 90% of the time it's females that show themselves. In Dutch this species is called "Blauwe Kiekendief", which literally translated means "Blue Chick-thief", i.e. a blueish bird (a in the blue-grey cast of the males plumage) stealing little birds from the nest of other birds. Anyway, why all this information? Just because I was happy to see a male again in your shot and was immediately reminded of the grey/blueish cast in the feathers. The shot itself is wonderful, with the eye clearly visible and the wing position.

, Cheers and all the best for 2013 ! Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on December 28, 2012 at 2:31 AM

Fantastic detail and nice wing position Ron

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

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 28, 2012 at 7:52 AM

Great image Ron, This bird is at the top of my wish list and if I can get an image even a bit close to this one I will be happy. I like the pose and I feel you exposure is right on. Thanks for posting.

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

Comment posted by Tom Lusk on December 28, 2012 at 10:27 AM

Despite seeing these birds fairly regularly, I have yet to get a decent shot. They always seem to be gliding over 300 acre fields.

To have a beautiful BG and the brush anchoring the shot- PLUS having a great, sharp view of the head, top-of-wing, underwing - even tail and foot - I can only dream.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Excellent look at this beauty, and I agree with Tjie.. The yellow eye's very nice here Ron.
I've really enjoyed viewing your work this past year.

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 28, 2012 at 10:40 AM

That tradmark background left no doubt about this being another of your fine images. I'm intrigued by the flow of the wings and the tail position - this is a shape I've never seen a harrier take before.

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 28, 2012 at 3:36 PM

wow--great takeoff position. love the comp, the light, the bg.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 28, 2012 at 11:44 PM

Awesome take-off photo Ron

I really like that bright eye, nice wing position and fanned tail.

Sweet photo!!!

Ken Archer