Birds of Prey – Page 2 – Circadianreflections Blog

American Kestrel-Male

January 20, 2017January 20, 2017Posted in birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of Prey, Falcons, National Wildlife Refuges in California, Nikon, PhotographyTagged After the Storm, American Kestrel, Birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Foggy, January 2017 Storm, Male Birds, Morning, Nikon, Photography25 Comments

The American Kestrel is the littlest Falcon in North America and the most colorful. They’re quite fierce for the size. They often perch on wires, or poles to watch and wait for unsuspecting prey. ” Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place.”~AllAboutBirds.com

Gordon and I stopped at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday morning before joining a Meet-Up group we’re in at another National Wildlife Refuge and while on the auto route where the Tulle Elk are we spotted this Kestrel on a post. It was just after a heavy rain storm so there was Tulle Fog all over the valley hence the white sky. I love the rain drops or dew drops on his breast feathers.

American Kestrel Male

We didn’t see any Tulle Elk in the paddock. Not one! They must have been deep in the trees until it warmed up. Thankfully for us this Kestrel was out and about looking for breakfast!

Nikon D700|Nikkor 200-500mm @ 460mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2017

More to come…

Red-tailed Hawk 2

February 16, 2016February 15, 2016Posted in Bird Photography, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Hawks, National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuges in California, PhotographyTagged Birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Macro photography, Photography, Red-tailed Hawk, San Luis National Wildlife Refuge16 Comments

This Red-tail is from a couple of weeks back. My friend and I were birding in San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and nearing the end of one of the auto-routes when we spotted it high in the tree. I was driving and didn’t think I’d get a decent photograph of it because it was on the passenger side of the car/road, and climbing over the console and gear box wasn’t something I wanted to do.

Red-tail Hawk

We had the route nearly to ourselves so I thought I’d pull the car caddy-whompus across the road and shoot leaning into the passenger seat. I was able to get several images of it before another car came up and I had to move.

It is striking isn’t it with its white cap and that gaze?

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 200-500mm VR| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2015

Red-tail Hawk with Prey

February 5, 2016February 4, 2016Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Hawks, PhotographyTagged Bird Photography, Birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Hawks, Red-tailed Hawk22 Comments

Warning!: Some may find these images too graphic!

While birding a couple of weeks ago in the Sacramento Valley we spotted this Red-tail Hawk having lunch on a levy about 25-30ft away from us. It spotted us too. It didn’t like the way we kept staring while it was trying to eat so…
Red tail Hawk with meal

…it picked up its meal…

Red-tailed Hawk with Prey in Flight

…and flew to a tree stump that offered a bit more privacy.

Red tail with prey on tree stump

We watched it eat for a couple of minutes then slowly drove away leaving it to enjoy its meal.

The second image with the Red-tail in flight has a bit of motion blur. I was hand-holding the lens and not used to its weight and think it was me being a wobbly rather than a slight pan. The eye is pretty sharp, and the blur gives it a sense of movement I like enough to save, and share it.

I was also racked out to 500mm and I didn’t frame up the shot giving the bird enough room to fly out of the frame, so I extended the canvas a bit then added in some of the background to give the bird some room to fly out of the frame, and fix the composition. There’s a learning curve to all new lenses; getting used to the weight, and bulkiness -it’s a chubby lens, and framing with it will be what I strive to master in the coming years.

I liked the lens so much I bought one right after I returned the rental lens.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 200-500mm VR (rental lens)| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 20/52 Osprey

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015Posted in Birds in the Wild, Birds of Northern America, Birds of Prey, California, Monochrome Madness2, OspreyTagged Birds in the Wild, Birds of Prey, Black and White Photography, Monochrome Madness2, Osprey5 Comments

This image I made back in May while out looking for Dancing Grebes. This Osprey is looking at its nest where its mate and chicks were.

To see the other images that were submitted this week click over to Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2 page here!

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 300mm f4 + Tamron 1.4x TC = 420mm| Tripod| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| CS6Silver Efex Pro 2

White-tailed Kite

March 19, 2012March 19, 2012Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birds of Prey, D700, Mare Island, Nature, Nikon, Photography, San Francisco Bay Area, White-tailed Kite, Wildlife4 Comments

This photograph is one I took at last month’s Pacific Flyway Festival. It’s a week-end event for birders out on Mare Island in the San Francisco Bay Area. Several hikes, and guided tours with experienced birders are offered. I went with a group of folks, and my friend Dali out to Skaggs Island for a private walk-about. It’s part of an old Navy base which is being renovated and rehabilitated to marsh land.
This Kite was perched in a tree just within range for me to get several shots of it before it flew away. I was so excited to be this close to one that didn’t fly away the moment it spotted me. They’re so skittish they perch far away from the roads, or they take flight as soon as they see me coming.
The day was overcast, and the sky was flat so I decided to turn this one into a “high Key” shot.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300 @ 300mm| f7.1| 1/1600sec| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Tripod

“Everybody, get on the floor, let’s dance! Don’t fight the feelin’, give yourself a chance! Shake, Shake, Shake! Shake your booty!” KC and the Sunshine Band

March 17, 2012March 17, 2012Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birds of Prey, California, Grizzly Island Preserve, Hawks, Nature, Photography, WildlifeLeave a comment

“Everybody, get on the floor, let’s dance! Don’t fight the feelin’, give yourself a chance! Shake, Shake, Shake! Shake your booty!” KC and the Sunshine Band, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300mmVR@ 300mm| f5.6| 1/2000 sec| ISO500| Manual Mode| Hand-held from a car window- Auto-Tour

Gliding in a Cloudless Sky

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Birds of Prey, CA, D700, Nature, Nikon, Osprey, Photography, Watsonville, WildlifeLeave a comment

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 200mm + 1.4x TC | f8| 1/2000 sec| ISO 800| Manual Mode| Tripod I spent part of the time shooting him in manual focus. With the TC on my Auto-Focus would hunt from time to time and I found it faster just to manually focus. I was changing from AF to MF I don’t know if this was MF or AF. Must find that in my Metadata.

Please click the photo to view it large. It looks blurry at this compressed size.

John Shaw: Nature & Wildlife Gear Guide (nikonusa.com)
Which NIKKOR Lens Type is Right for Your D-SLR? (nikonusa.com)

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