Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
Iron Sight wrote:
Inspiring! 👀👍
Hi Iron Sight
Thanks for checking out the hawk images, for the comment and the Thumbs up.
Ballard wrote:
Lately I've been getting visited by a Coopers hawk that has been trying to invite birds that come to my bird feeder to breakfast. He likes to sit in a bush not far from my kitchen window where I've taken a few shots of him in the past through the window. However every time I try to open the window to get a clear shot he would take off. This morning I left the window open before he got there and waited for him. He came around 8:40 and at first stayed hidden behind branches (see the where's Waldo shot below). But eventually he moved to where I could see him better. The first set of shots where taken at a 500mm focal length, the next set where taken using a 2X teleconverter with the 500mm lens to get a 1000mm focal length. Note: only the closeup of his eyes has been cropped. All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.
Lately I've been getting visited by a Coopers hawk... (
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Hi, Ballard
This is beautiful series of images of a sharp-shinned hawk, not a Cooper’s hawk. The common feature used to differentiate the two species -(which have similarly colored plumage and pattern ... whether the tail is round ended (Coopers hawk) or square ended ( Sharp-shinned) - is not observable in these images. Another distinguishing feature, albeit less-often recognized, is that the breast feathers of the sharpie are distinctly proportionately larger than those of the Cooper’s hawk. The difference is easily appreciated by comparing good images of the two species.
As a falconer who has flown both species and a raptor rehabilitator and wildlife disease researcher and diagnostician who has had many opportunities to observe live, injured, and dead examples of both species, I can attest to the validity of proportionate breast feather size as a reliable criterion for species differentiation.
Also, the bill of the sharpie is a bit proportionately smaller than that of the Coopers.
Also, the two species overlap in size. A small male Coopers can be close in size to a very large female sharpie, but a female Coopers is immense compared with a male sharpie.
Again, your images are beautifully accomplished!
Best regards
Dave Graham
Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
Uuglypher wrote:
Hi, Ballard
This is beautiful series of images of a sharp-shinned hawk, not a Cooper’s hawk. The common feature used to differentiate the two species - whether the tail is round ended (Coopers hawk) or square ended ( Sharp-shinned) - is not observable in these images. Another distinguishing feature, albeit less-often recognized, is that the breast feathers of the sharpie are distinctly proportionately larger than those of the Cooper’s hawk. The difference is easily appreciated by comparing god images of the two species.
As a falconer who has flown both species and a raptor rehabilitator and wildlife disease researcher and diagnostician who has had many opportunities to observe live, injured, and dead examples of both species, I can attest to the validity of proportionate breast feather size as a reliable criterion for species differentiation.
Also, the bill of the sharpie is a bit proportionately smaller than that of the Coopers.
Also, the two species overlap in size. A small male Coopers can be close in size to a very large female sharpie, but a female Coopers is immense compared with a male sharpie.
Again, your images are beautifully accomplished!
Best regards
Dave Graham
Hi, Ballard br This is beautiful series of images ... (
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Hi Dave
Thanks for checking out the images of the hawk and for the corrected information. I'll make note that this is a sharp-shinned hawk for future reference. I'm not much of an bird expert and guessed that it was a coopers from pictures I've seen on the web and very much appreciate the corrected information.
Thanks Ballard
Way better than the usual "bird on a stick" IMHO. Beautiful captures and renderings of the raptor with a natural background. Please stay safe and keep on sharing.
Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
Ourspolair wrote:
Way better than the usual "bird on a stick" IMHO. Beautiful captures and renderings of the raptor with a natural background. Please stay safe and keep on sharing.
Hi Ourspolair
Thank you very much for the comment and for viewing the images. It is definitely a natural background as he lives in the neighborhood and visits this spot frequently.
Appy
Loc: Flint Hills (Ks)
Gawdawmighty that's one beautiful bird!
And the converter made one heck of a difference. It did blur the stuff around the bird but it sure gets you up close and personal with that beautiful hawk!
Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
Appy wrote:
Gawdawmighty that's one beautiful bird!
And the converter made one heck of a difference. It did blur the stuff around the bird but it sure gets you up close and personal with that beautiful hawk!
Hi Appy
Thanks for checking out the hawk pictures and for the comment. The canon 500mm F4.0 is a great lens and works well with the canon 2X teleconverter. Of course it loses a couple of F stops and you need carefully focus when using it as there is less depth of field with that long a focal length.
Ballard
Loc: Grass Valley, California
steve L wrote:
Very cool !!!
Thanks
steve L
Hi steve L
Thanks for checking out the hawk pictures, for the comment and the Thumbs up.
Ballard wrote:
Lately I've been getting visited by a Coopers hawk that has been trying to invite birds that come to my bird feeder to breakfast. He likes to sit in a bush not far from my kitchen window where I've taken a few shots of him in the past through the window. However every time I try to open the window to get a clear shot he would take off. This morning I left the window open before he got there and waited for him. He came around 8:40 and at first stayed hidden behind branches (see the where's Waldo shot below). But eventually he moved to where I could see him better. The first set of shots where taken at a 500mm focal length, the next set where taken using a 2X teleconverter with the 500mm lens to get a 1000mm focal length. Note: only the closeup of his eyes has been cropped. All questions, comments and suggestions are welcome.
Lately I've been getting visited by a Coopers hawk... (
show quote)
Very nice set of images!!!
Waldo is in the center toward the top, I can see his eye and a bit of his tail
Great Shots!
May I ask what camera / lens and converter were used....
Thanks
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