Stephen Barnard has again provided some lovely bird photos to start the week (my week, as I’m just back).
First, a Northern Harrier (marsh hawk; Circus cyaneus):
And some quarrelsome house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus):
Readers’ wildlife photos
March 4, 2014 • 6:10 am
Wonderful as always, especially the Marsh Hawk.
I do especially like that Northern Harrier.
Me too!
Agree with this. It’s a fine shot of the “Grey Ghost.”
Excellent work *again*!
I love both but am drawn in by the luminescence and composition (serendipity?) of the second photo. The bird on the left is a perfect foil for the other…. there is an ephemeral quality to the whole thing.
Agreed — the depth of the finch on the right draws you in, the detail of the structure is fascinating. Interested about the Northern Harrier — think we have here. Birding books and binocs coming out again.
If you look closely at the harrier photo you’ll notice diagonal streaks. Those are raindrops as I was panning to follow the bird. The sun popped out for just a moment. These birds fly by my place several times a day, but usually when I grab the camera it’s too late. I got lucky this time. They are very difficult birds to photograph.
It is beautifully lit. So hard to get a comparable amount of light on the upper- and under-wings, as you did here. And such a soft light, with a nice soft background, but perfect sharpness for the bird! Lovely.
Yes, exactly — especially with the background in shadow like that and the beautiful bokeh of the Great White…takes a lot of work and patience to manufacture the kind of luck it takes to “snap” a shot like that.
b&
BTW Stephen, guess what camera I just got in the mail today (a birthday present to myself)? 😉
I’ll take a wild guess: Canon 5D3
🙂 Yup! Of course all the birds which were hanging around promptly vanished!
Crank the ISO up to 2000, attach your longest lens, choose Av mode and set it to f/8, and click away on rapid fire. That’s my approach.
Hippo birdie two ewe! You’ll love your present. And you’ll have to email a photo to Jerry to prove you’re not just shittin’ us, of course….
b&
That is not just a Northern Harrier by the way. It is an mature male, a “gray ghost”. They take a number of years to reach this plumage of gray above and very white below (sorry couldn’t find the exact number of years). Most birds are brown with much streaking below. Nice picture, thanks.
These birds have extremely variable plumage.
How are photos submitted?
Email Professor Ceiling Cat. Click on Research Interests above or google him for his eddress.
Known as the Hen Harrier in the UK where it suffers from persecution. It is disliked by gamekeepers because it takes grouse (Lagopus lagopus) chicks and thereby is accused of reducing the number of birds available to shoot when the shooting season starts. It has been illegally shot, trapped and poisoned as a result and, though still present in Scotland, is now virtually extinct in England. Something we should be ashamed of.