When I opened my email this morning, I found that reader Ivar Husa had sent me a group of wonderful photos of predatory birds. I’ll put up just four of them for now, along with his commentary. Note that the owl photos are hot off the press!
As always, click them to enlarge.
These screech owlet [Megascops] pictures were taken this morning, and the little guys fledged only a few days ago.
The Swainson’s Hawk [Buteo swainsoni] pictures were taken Saturday, and all are of the same bird. The difference in appearance (color) is attributable to the fact that the upper surfaces were illuminated by direct sunlight, where the lower surfaces by reflection from the ground, which was dry and light brown.
Here is a ferruginous hawk image [Buteo regalis] I took a couple of weeks ago at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. My favorite picture of the month.
Pictures were taken with a (new as of Thursday!) Canon 5D Mark III camera using a Canon 100-400mm lens.
Beautiful! Thanks.
Beautiful. Jpw fantastic to be in a place where there are such birds 🙂 Thanks for posting
Great shots……. good work done.
Fine work, Ivar! I’m particularly partial to that lovely Ferruginous Hawk–its open-country habits don’t lend themselves to easy photography–but they’re all terrific.
Yes, that’s an amazing shot.
Great! What happened to the Collins on Colbert I got in an email notice? Too hot or too funny… 😉
Gorgeous photos, Ivar.
Beautiful birds of prey! Thanks for the uplifting start to the day
That fabulous photo of the young owls could be sold commercially as a poster — perhaps even to schools, both private and public.
I’d put a caption on it, something like:
Wisdom means learning to look at the world from different points-of-view.
Meanwhile at the Cornell hawk cam, thunderstorms are rolling through the area this afternoon.
Breathtaking photos. Very well done!
If I can add my 2 cents, earlier this month I was sent this video of two squeaky fuzz balls (screech owl hatchlings) at a raptor rescue facility:
How do you zoom in & still manage to follow the bird & keep it in the frame??? I have tried a good deal, especially with gulls, & find that I lose them as they are so unpredictable!
Ivar — you must live in OR or southern WA. I am frequently in White Salmon, WA. Nice work! The birds in flight are really well done.
I have been to Malheur a few times. not many people I know have.
Have you visited the Alvord Desert, Steens Mountain, and Alvord Hot Springs?
I live in Richland, WA. This month was my first trip to Malheur, and I must go again, and take in the Alvord, Steens Mountain, and maybe Leslie Gulch. Just not during the heat of summer! Lovely places.
I also love shooting photos as I go down the Gorge to Stevenson, where my inlaws live. Many wonderful views and critters to ‘shoot’.
Great shots! And congrats on the new camera.
Very nice shot. I was lucky enough to get a good shot of a Red Tailed Hawk on the campus of the University of Toronto a couple of years ago.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saturation/4782356155/