More NikonCafe Toronto Get-together shots....

[TOLady]

These are some from the Mountsberg Raptor Rescue Centre northwest of Toronto. I'd highly recommend a visit to this place, for the education and the photo ops. Wonderful patient staff who are very educated in the avian world. Most of these birds are permanent residents due to either injury or human imprinting.

First of all, we have the beautiful turkey vulture!

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This owl was hilarious. He seemed to love the bath because of the hot still air....
Before:

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Getting started...

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Ohhhh, I've had enough water, thankyou very much!

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and now for my closeup, Mr. DeMille...

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Then we had this sweet little Kestrel male...

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and this red tailed hawk

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I want to go back! They have a bald eagle, a snowy owl and LOTS more! I even talked one of the staff members into stopping by and seeing if he likes our Cafe. He's a terrific guy and a Nikon Shooter!!!! :biggrin: Let's all give Kevin a great welcome, and he can give us ALL SORTS of information regarding birds.

 

[GoGo]

looks like fun

Great photos Sandi!

 

[daodang]

WOW! Impressive serie, Sandi. Love #2 and #4 most.

 

[hangin tree]

Great Set Sandi love the Kestrel

 

[VictorM]

Wow, these are great Sandi. After seeing your bird shots and Mark's bird shots, I suddenly lost desire to post mine

 

[Markb]

Sandi,

Great shots. Love the head shake.

Victor, go ahead and post, Rich will probably out do us all:biggrin:.

I think overall we did not so bad, considering there was no big glass present.

 

[Rich Gibson]

Great stuff Sandi! Carolyn and I had a wonderful time shooting in Totonto. On the way out Sunday morning we came across an old Model T Ford, then another, then another...then a whole gaggle of folks dressed like they were in the twenties. We were in the middle of shooting of a twenties movie. All the cars had Ohio license plates. It'll be interesting to see what movie it is!

Thanks again for your, Mark's and Victor's gracious Canadian hospitality.

Rich

 

[Rich Gibson]

Sandi,

Great shots. Love the head shake.

Victor, go ahead and post, Rich will probably out do us all:biggrin:.

I think overall we did not so bad, considering there was no big glass present.

Ha! I just finished shooting today and have another one of Ottawa tomorrow.

Rich

 

[AndrewT]

Great series, Sandi!

 

[Lanakila]

Wow! Your pictures are beautiful!

Elvira (the turkey vulture) is visually stunning.

Chomper (the great horned owl) looks vivid in that first picture you posted (without the water spraying from the garden hose). I love the two shots thereafter, with the water coming down on Chomper. And of course, I love how you captured the action of Chomper shaking his head, spraying water in a circular motion away from himself. Absolutely adorable!

The Kestrel is Calvin, one of our "vicious" Kestrels we have at Mountsberg. (He's the most aggressive out of our education Kestrels). We need to gve him a serious beak-trimming. From your photograph, you can see how long his beak tip has grown.

The red-tailed hawk's name is Takenya, and she's a sweetie.

Thank you for posting all these beautiful pictures of our birds. It's always nice to see what our raptors look like through another person's eyes and camera lens. :>

 

[Toklat]

Terrific series Sandi. #4 is just wonderful! Looks like you had a great time of it.

 

[TOLady]

Great photos Sandi!

Thankyou, GoGo, we had a fun time.

WOW! Impressive series, Sandi. Love #2 and #4 most.

Thanks, these birds were very interesting, and learning about them and their natural environment was an experience.

Great Set Sandi love the Kestrel

Thankyou Gary. The Kestrels were a LOT smaller than I'd thought they'd be.

 

[TOLady]

Wow, these are great Sandi. After seeing your bird shots and Mark's bird shots, I suddenly lost desire to post mine

Thanks Victor - it certainly was a fun day out. Come onnnnn, let's see yours - I just KNOW you've got some great shots in there.

Sandi,

Great shots. Love the head shake.

Victor, go ahead and post, Rich will probably out do us all:biggrin:.

I think overall we did not so bad, considering there was no big glass present.

Thankyou Mark. When I hit the shutter and saw the movement, I thought that shot was heading for the garbage bin, but it actually turned out - the body stayed still - the head moved. :biggrin: It was a difficult shooting day with such high bright sunlight on wet feathers. I'm going back for snowy owl and eagle shots!

Great stuff Sandi! Carolyn and I had a wonderful time shooting in Toronto. On the way out Sunday morning we came across an old Model T Ford, then another, then another...then a whole gaggle of folks dressed like they were in the twenties. We were in the middle of shooting of a twenties movie. All the cars had Ohio license plates. It'll be interesting to see what movie it is!

Thanks again for your, Mark's and Victor's gracious Canadian hospitality.

Rich

Thankyou Rich, it was a pleasure to join you and Carolyn, and show you my 'town'. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit here, and don't forget to come back - there's even MORE to see.
Yes, we 'trip' over movie shoots all the time. The novelty has worn off for this city - now it just means a LOT of bad parking for a few days. :smile:

Great series, Sandi!

Thanks so much, Andrew. You'll have to come out with us next time - the more, the merrier!

Wow! Your pictures are beautiful!

Elvira (the turkey vulture) is visually stunning.

Chomper (the great horned owl) looks vivid in that first picture you posted (without the water spraying from the garden hose). I love the two shots thereafter, with the water coming down on Chomper. And of course, I love how you captured the action of Chomper shaking his head, spraying water in a circular motion away from himself. Absolutely adorable!

The Kestrel is Calvin, one of our "vicious" Kestrels we have at Mountsberg. (He's the most aggressive out of our education Kestrels). We need to gve him a serious beak-trimming. From your photograph, you can see how long his beak tip has grown.

The red-tailed hawk's name is Takenya, and she's a sweetie.

Thank you for posting all these beautiful pictures of our birds. It's always nice to see what our raptors look like through another person's eyes and camera lens. :>

Thankyou so much, Kevin. It was so nice meeting you there, and hopefully, next time we'll have more time to talk with fewer crowds. If you ever plan on taking the snowy owl and the bald eagle out for display, just holler and I'll be there in a shot!!! :biggrin: You folks are doing a wonderful job at that rescue centre - educating the masses is key!

Terrific series Sandi. #4 is just wonderful! Looks like you had a great time of it.

Thanks so much, Toklat - we had a lot of fun shooting these birds. The fact that we could get so close was such a bonus.

 

[dmwphoto]

A wonderful set of images Sandi!!

 

[Frits]

Wow, these are some gorgeous shots Sandi!

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Exceptional shots Sandi! Great recruiting too

 

[TOLady]

A wonderful set of images Sandi!!

Thanks Dave. I had turned off my VR on the 70-200 the day before and forgot to turn it back on until halfway through the shoot. DUHHHHH! Made for a bunch of non-keepers while shooting handheld. These birds are amazing, especially viewing them closeup.

Wow, these are some gorgeous shots Sandi!

Thanks so much, Frits. Still going through them, seeing if there are any more in the bunch.

Exceptional shots Sandi! Great recruiting too

Thanks Nick, kind words coming from you. I'm going to make up some cards with the cafe web address because I'm always talking to fellow photogs when I'm out. I even tell the C**** shooters they're welcome as well. :biggrin:

 

[tech1961]

The Kestrel has my vote. My favorite bird.

 

[TOLady]

Just for Jimmy.... another shot of the Kestrel after his bath...

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and one of the barn owl in residence....

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[VictorM]

Thanks Victor - it certainly was a fun day out. Come onnnnn, let's see yours - I just KNOW you've got some great shots in there.

Thanks Sandi, okay I've posted my Chomper the owl photo, look in this same group. Chomper was the only bird I got once I was able to get up close (after) with the 105mm.