p.1 #1 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
we got at least 6 inches of rain the past few days in the bay area, and this afternoon the skies cleared off. i figured any self-respecting bird would be out flying, the problem being finding a spot that was hike able after the big rains..so i went up into our local park to the ridges with my 500mm, carefully sidestepping the muddiest sections and the couple of slides that i saw. when i got up to the ridgeline i camped out where i often see kites and hawks, and today i was rewarded by both. there was a pair of kites hunting on the hillside, and a red tailed hawk came by for a few minutes. i've seen this hawk hanging out at the top of the trees behind the hill, and in this case he was hassled by the kites until he left the vicinitiy.
anyway, i've attached a representative sample of the pix i took. i was not very close, so even with my 500mm (handheld) and cropping i was not able to zoom in as much as i would have liked. i hope you like them anyway...
p.1 #2 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
these are nice. would it be possible to crop in closer on the first harrier? you could clone out the distracting bit of the tree near his wing. its a really nice shot (as is the 4th one) and it would be great to see it a bit tighter. just curious.....
p.1 #6 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
This is what I make of it ....
1. X'd out
2. WT Kite
3. male Norhtern Harrier
4. X'd out
5. male Northern Harrier / RTHA
6. male Northern Harrier / RTHA
7. RTHA
8. male Northern Harrier
9. male Northern Harrier
p.1 #7 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
sorry, i have to clean up the album and links for the recropped images which replaced the smaller ones...it was a harrier, that's what i thought but i wasn't sure. it landed on the hillside and sat there looking at me for a few minutes...but was too far away to get any decent shots. really beautiful bird, first i've seen one up in that spot but my guess is they hang there a lot. thanks
p.1 #8 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
Your diligence in the mud paid off nicely rewarding you with fine selection of shots. I really like the pose of the male NH, the spread tail and all really shows the bird's beauty
p.1 #10 · Kites and a Red Tailed Hawk...After the Deluge...
thanks gang..i take any compliments very seriously coming from you....i wish i could have gotten a bit closer but they didn't really want me coming any further. i got some cool shots of the harrier sitting on the hill but too far away to post. the 500 is about as much as i want to handhold (or can afford), and i didn't want to schlep my tripod up there in the mud.
