My first CLOSE encounter with a bird of prey. Is this a hawk or an osprey? I am not sure. I need to get one of the birding books. I found this guys at Marymoor Park last month. Late late evening with not much light. The shots were underexposed and I had to bump up EV in NC by as much as +1.0EV. I think they turned out well considering the conditions and the underexposure. He was perched on a 25ft tree trunk perch. I got right underneath him and he posed for a minute before he flew away. Unfortunately I couldn't get any shots of him flying as I was surrounded by trees and when he toook off I couldn't see him. Shot with the 70-200VR @ 200mm. I added +1EV, USM, and a +8 contrast boost in Nikon Capture.
Awesome shots Jay. Really get the adrenalin flowing, huh? It's definitely not an Osprey, but whatever it is, it's a beauty. :wink:
Thanks for the comments, Frank. It was definitely an adrenaline rush. To tell you the truth, he was looking right down on me and I thought that he is going to swoop down on me and put a hole in my head. :smile: Looking at other pictures in the forum, I think this might be a hawk and not an osprey.
Definitely a hawk and not an osprey. Possibly a juvenile that's transitioning to adult plumage, from the looks of things. But I'm not the expert here -- there's plenty of folks who could give you a better ID than me. Nice captures, though! The 70-200 is one of my favorite lenses in my kit. I'm guessing you probably like yours, too. :smile:
Great shot my favorite birds It is a Hawk from the look a Juvi red shoulder hawk and really nice looking one
I appreciate all the comments. I am going to buy a bird id book. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good one? Thanks.
I got two, and like the Sibley very well. Here's a link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679451226/002-7002248-1692004?v=glance
I'm almost positive it is an immature Red Tail Hawk. You can still see a bit of blue in the eye, a sign that it was born earlier this year.
