Cooper’s Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted November 8, 2015104 views7 comments

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Place: Phoenix, AZ
Date: August 7, 2015, 4:51 pm
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/, handheld
ISO 800, aperture priority spot metered, 1/250th @ f/4
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 41% of frame
Backyard, through dirty glass door

Not the best image quality, but interesting action. My feed the backyard birds, putting seed out on the ground for the doves and quail. This always attracts accipiters, with Cooper's Hawk much more frequesnt than Sharp-shinned Hawk. This juvie Cooper's Hawk is in a tree just off the patio, consuming a Mourning Dove taken from the yard. I keep a D300 body ready with a 300/4 mounted and set at ISO 800 for such opportunities. This is the same tree and gear used with the recently posted Black-and-white Warbler.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Large versoin provided as always.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on November 8, 2015 at 4:21 PM

I agree it's not the best IQ, but the action is very cool especially having it happen in your own backyard.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 8, 2015 at 6:39 PM

Excellent, Richard. Mourning doves seem to be one of their favorite prey around here as well. I like the background leaves from your tree-they make a nice pattern without being obtrusive.

devil

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 8, 2015 at 7:51 PM

Great capture in a tough lighting situation. I was raking leaves this morning and saw the telltale signs of a cooper's attack on a pigeon - wish I had been able to catpure it like this. Well done

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on November 8, 2015 at 8:02 PM

I saw this same behavior at the feeder behind a ranger station on a pass this winter. I wish I would have been paying more attention, because I missed the chance to get him in the frame. I agree with BG is challenging, but nice exposure on the hawk under tough circumstances.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on November 8, 2015 at 9:26 PM

This is real nice Richard. I like the light you got on the bird though it would have also been nice to have more detail in the tree trunk. Excellent pose and behavior with the Coopers (and the dove). The large version shows a bit of noise and detail loss, but great job for shooting through a dirty window! By the way, it is great to see you back. You have helped me very much in the past!

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Sobolik on November 9, 2015 at 11:03 AM

very nice capture of the moment. You make a good point about being prepared with your camera when it comes to Cooper's Hawks. They can come and go quickly. Regarding your image quality and the situation under which you captured the image, Dennis Plank pointed out in a comment on one of my submissions, that documentary photography and artistic photography are not the same.I take that to mean the end result dictates what we share photographically ---- within limits of course.

Registered on October 27, 2015, 19 Posts, 8 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Marella on November 9, 2015 at 3:25 PM

As soon as I saw this I wondered if I would have been able to get a useable exposure of the scene. Difficult situation, but all the detail in the hawk and dove are there. Nicely done.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 142 Posts, 862 Comments