Hawk hunt #1

Posted by Bookfool (Mississippi, United States) on 13 November 2008 in Animal & Insect.

This is a red-shouldered hawk that my husband noticed not far from our home, when he was out running errands. He hurried home to fetch me and we went out chasing the poor fellow around. At this point, he was about 15-20 feet away from me, sitting on a fence post. I used my 500mm lens, hand-held, because we were parked on a soft shoulder -- no room to set up a tripod.

Comments (10)

Rich from Stafford, United Kingdom

Looks great!

Now that's dedication for you. :o)

13 Nov 2008 10:01am

@*Rich*: Thanks, Rich!

Dedication on my part or that of the hawk, who was determined to get the heck away from me? LOL You do have to feel for those guys, but at least I chased him with a lens rather than a gun. ;)

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Hand held
You done good
(Excuse my murder of the English language.)

13 Nov 2008 11:52am

@grouser: Thanks, Grouser! "You done good" is something we hear all the time, down here. The Queen's English has lost its crown.

Les from Lincoln, United States

Superb. I'm green with envy that you got such an opportunity to shot this beauty of a bird. And so sharp for a hand-held photo. Love the DoF, too. Five stars!!

13 Nov 2008 12:13pm

@Les: Thanks, Les! Well, hmm, again . . . maybe you just need a trip to Vicksburg. This particular fellow's territory includes an open field on our drive to and from the high school. So, we see him quite a bit. There are plenty of opportunities to spot hawks, down here. Many thanks!

bisha from Saitama, Japan

You really do have steady hands! Lovely shot!

13 Nov 2008 2:47pm

@bisha: Most of the time, I have very steady hands. There are days that I hold my breath, let it out slowly, brace myself and my lens and still can't get it right. Lucky day, I guess. :) Thanks, Nat!

Eleftheria! from Athens, Greece

Beautiful!

13 Nov 2008 2:50pm

@Eleftheria!: Thank you!

Françoise from Brienne la Vieille, France

Superbe !

13 Nov 2008 3:15pm

@Françoise: Merci beaucoup!

Earnest from Oklahoma, United States

Very impressive. You must have a steady hand indeed... I hope to get similar lens some time down the road (after I get a macro lens)... No problem at all provided I win the lottery.. :-)

13 Nov 2008 4:17pm

@Earnest: I've always had steady hands, yep. I like to say I should have been a surgeon but, ewwww, no way. LOL This lens was a surprise gift from my husband and not as expensive as most, as it's the lower-quality kind with the mirrors (it was a gift, but I pay the bills). Winning the lottery would definitely help to expand the equipment!

Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom

Well, I think you did an amazing job to not only get that close, but to shoot it handheld with a 500mm lens. Massive respect.

13 Nov 2008 11:51pm

@Richard_Irwin: Thank you, Richard. Those hawks usually don't like it when people get too close, so I suspect there was a lot of luck involved. :)