Posts in Category: hawk
White Hawk
White Hawk: Golfito, Costa Rica — We stopped at an overlook where we had a great view of the Pacific and the Osa Peninsula across the “sweet” bay, and there, too far away and tucked into the foliage across the road, was this White Hawk. This is heavy crop and a considerable enlargement. I resorted to + 3 EV exposure compensation…trying to keep detail in the white feathers…but honestly at that distance it did not make a lot of difference. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th. (+ 3EV).
Roadside Hawk
Roadside Hawk: Playa Blanca, Costa Rica (Osa Peninsula) — The sun had set on our Macaw adventure, and we were headed back to the bus, when we came up on this Road-side Hawk, perched at eye-level, back in the foliage of a tree between the road and the beach…literally on the road side. 🙂 The Road-side Hawk is probably one of the most common hawks all though Mexico and Central America. I had already switched memory modes to use multi-frame noise reduction as the light levels fell and I managed this portrait. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 5000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Short-tailed Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk: Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica — I am pretty sure this is a Short-tailed Hawk. I don’t remember what Edwin, our the guide called it, and it was overhead for just a few seconds, as we aboard the wagon for the trip back down the Rio Rincon after our short hike in the forests of Corcovado National Park. Not great photos but the best I could manage under the circumstances. So, more about the bird this morning, than the photo. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 and f4 @ 1/1000th and 1/640th. The second shot at + .7 EV.
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk: Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I was at the little drainage pond at Southern Maine Health Care in Kennebunk, photographing mostly dragonflies, when the resident pair of Red-winged Blackbirds suddenly increased their racket. The male in particular seemed upset, and his high pitched alarm calls were echoed by an even higher pitched call that I thought might be a Cowbird…but I had not seen any Cowbirds around the pond. Suddenly a big bird burst out of the dense little evergreen at the pond’s edge, where it had obviously been sheltering from the RWBB’s attentions, and dove into the birch cluster above the RWBB’s nest. The RWBB was on it in seconds, and it flew out and across the parking lot to one of the ornamental trees. Cooper’s Hawk! By shape and size and what little feather pattern I caught in flight. The RWBB was not giving it any rest, and before I could get the camera on it, it flew back across in front of me and landed up under the eves of the forest abutting the pond, about 40 feet from me. I had been using full 1440mm equivalent on the dragonflies, so I was zoomed in way to far, but I got off a couple of shots, and then attempted to zoom back for the full bird. By then, though, only seconds later, the RWBB had moved the hawk on again, and this time escorted it out across the parking lot until it disappeared into the trees behind the shopping center an eighth of a mile back out toward Route 1. So what I have is a grab shot head shot of the bird. Not a bad shot considering. And a Cooper’s Hawk is always a good bird to see. 🙂 Nikon B700 at 1440mm equivalent. Program mode with what are becoming my custom birds and wildlife modifications for this camera (Program, Vivid Picture Control, Low Active-D Lighting, Medium movable spot focus, -.3EV exposure compensation). Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Broad-winged Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk, Kennebunk, Maine, USA — I need to remember it is hawk migration time here in Southern Maine. This hawk came up off the roadside as I rode up on it on my eBike, with something largish in its talons, and I tracked it in flight (not easy, or perhaps even safe, to do while riding a bike) until it landed in a tree overhanging the road ahead of me. I carefully parked my bike before I could actually see the spot where it landed, got my camera out and walked ahead, peering up into the branches. And there it was. Now that I have the photos for reference, I can see that the prey was a snake of some kind. Red-tailed is the default hawk in Southern Maine, but I am pretty sure (and both of my ai photo recognition programs agree) that this an immature Broad-winged Hawk…which makes it a migrant passing through. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Red-shouldered Hawk
This Red-shouldered Hawk was sitting so still, close to Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida, USA, that I almost did not see it. I was about to drive off, after checking a small pond where waders sometimes congregate, when I spotted it…sitting right there! It even let me slide the car forward to put it against a better background (after taking a first burst of shots just in case, of course). Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Bateleur
We really did see quite a few raptors during our #Epic_Uganda_Vacations birding and wildlife tour of Uganda. This is one that I really wanted a decent photograph of. I have seen it both in Kenya and South Africa, but never seen it well, and never had a good photo op. This was the best I could do in Uganda (Murchinson Falls National Park) for a mature bird…though we saw and photographed at least half a dozen immatures. Not the best shot, but still a memorable experience. The Bateleur is classed among the Hawk-Eagles. Sony RX10IV at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Eastern Chanting-Goshawk
A few days ago I posted images of a Dark Chanting-Goshawk from Murchinson Falls National Park in Uganda, and said that the Eastern Chanting-Goshawk was also possible there. Well, imagine my surprise when I looked at my “other” shots of a Chanting-Goshawk, taken a the next day in another part of the Park, and found that it is, to my eye at least, probably an Eastern. The cere is certainly yellow, as opposed to the Dark Chanting’s obvious orange, and the legs do appear longer. Two Chanting-Goshawks in two days! But this is exactly the kind of trip we had with #Epic_Uganda_Vacations 🙂 and the reason I am planning to go back next year. Uganda is amazing. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Dark Chanting-Goshawk
I was impressed by the numbers and variety of birds we saw in Uganda with #Epic_Uganda_Vacations when compared to my previous trips to either Kenya or South Africa. This is the Dark Chanting-Goshawk which we encountered at Murchinson Falls National Park early in our trip. I looked it up, since I had to wonder why this is a “chanting” Goshawk? What I could find indicates that the name comes from the mating call, which is along, increasingly rapid, series of notes that turns into a tremolo at the end. We did not hear the call, but I am willing to believe in my sources 🙂 It is certainly a striking bird. Both it and the Eastern variety are possible in Murchinson Falls, but the orange cere is the identifying feature here. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm and 1200mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Classic over the shoulder Red-tailed pose
A second shot from the sequence of the Red-tailed Hawk at Laudholm Farms on Thursday. Such a handsome bird! Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.