Texas Kestrel

Well detailed classic pose and head turn. That sky is awful blue and it looks like some blue color cast in the bird as well.

Nice one, Jerry! Very envious...these are one of my favourites as well and I simply have not succeeded in getting anything I'm happy with...yet.    I'd be very happy with this one, for sure. Nice comp, solid techs, great look from the kestrel complete with catchlight...not a lot not to like here. I'm going to read Phil's "awful blue" as "very blue" (which I suspect is the intent) as I don't personally mind it here, however he may be right about the entire image being just a bit cool. A quick colour temperature or colour balance adjustment might be worth experimenting with anyway...it's very close though.

Indeed a (more than) decent capture ! Love the species as well, so thanks for showing ! Cheers, Hans

Jerry:  lovely capture of this little guy.  Pose/perch work well.  Blue sky.... well, not my favorite, but it was clear that day.  I'd still tone the sky down a bit.  Overall white balance feels a bit too cool.

Thanks for all the comments. I toned down the blue sky a bit and warmed up the image overall. Nothing drastic. Hope it is noticeable and improves the image.

Jerry:  I think the repost is a nice improvement.

Either way a great shot of a bird, I agree, is difficult to capture.  I would go with the re-post as it removes the blue cast on the bird. I like the pose with the slight head turn; nice catch light.

Jerry: a fine shot of a bird that is so hard to photograph. The re-post is a nice improvement. Congrats!! Richard

Sweet, Jerry.  These are one of my nemesis birds, so I know what you mean.  they seem to have a habit of magically defocusing my lens when I point it at them.  Nice pose and perch and a great head turn on this one.  Very well photographed.  The repost is definitely an improvement.

Repost looks a lot more natural.  I can never seem to get as close as you have.  The detail in the repost seems sharper.