OMG, THIS ROCKED

doenoe · Sep 21, 2007

well, i thought it did.
There was this sparrowhawk which caught a pigeon, sitting right in front of our house. It was about 5 meters in front of me. And me, being a birds of prey person, loved the sight of it. But the pigeon wasnt dead yet. For me that wasnt a problem and i had no idea of saving it. Cause thats just the way things go in the wild. But my neighbour didnt think the same way and saved the pigeon. I was really bummed by this, because it was a great photo op. But more because sparrowhawks miss alot of their prey when they hunt (like 1 on 20 prey items is caught) and when she finally got something (big prey too) she gets chased away. I was really annoyed.
But i still got some nice shots. These where made in a hurry too, so im pretty pleased with the quality. Well, enough typing, here are some pics:

Oh and the pigeon is just fine. Some bald spots and little bits of blood.
Thanks for looking
Greetz Daan

Neuner · Sep 21, 2007

AWESOME! 2 & 3 are cool, but 3 is the best with the hawk's stance. Lots of confidence & pride in that pose. Nice catch!

I like the DOF of them all. Is this from your aperture or zoom length?

edit: Wanted to add, I like the urban landscape/sidewalk as well. It has quite a different feeling than if it was shot in 'the wild'.

Mesoam · Sep 21, 2007

i would have definitely gone out and punted the pigeon...rats of the bird community

wildmaven · Sep 21, 2007

Arghgh. It irks me when some well-meaning person interrupts a natural kill like that. The energy the raptor expends with each attempt is incredible. I'd have given your neighbor a piece of my mind. Did the pigeon survive the "rescue" or did it die later of shock...

Oh, the pictures! Number 3 gets my vote. Great pose, great focus!

m1a1fan · Sep 21, 2007

Incredible series of shots. To witness this is one thing but to actually have your camera handy is truly amazing.

Dynamic · Sep 21, 2007

Great shots ! I love how crisp and detailed they are.
I had a few occasions to watch hawks consume rabbits and mice and really, as much as I love all wildlife, that just how things go. You would have had great shots of the 'meal' but ... what can you do. I think this series is very nice as is.

Keith Gebhardt · Sep 21, 2007

These are awsome! i love the dof and colors. amazing. haha, what luck to have your camera on you at that moment!!!

The_Traveler · Sep 21, 2007

I think with pictures as brilliant as this you owe us some EXIF detail.

lostprophet · Sep 21, 2007

Well I have to agree Daan, I would be chasing your neighbour as well

Stunning shots mate, amazing detail
Last one is my fave

jstuedle · Sep 21, 2007

Super catch. You just gotta love the raptors, great majestic birds. Very nice work.

abraxas · Sep 21, 2007

You could tell your neighbor you found the sparrow hawk dead of starvation, and all its babies too. It must have been a horrible, slow, painful, agonizing, way to die. Momma never it made it back, she didn't have enough strength. The little chicks were clutched to each other when you found them, they had started to eat their own beaks. - and by the way, you notice there's a little bit of pigeon poop in her hair.

Beautiful bird- nice shots.

doenoe · Sep 22, 2007

thanks for the comments everyone

I was really lucky i could shoot this, cause yesterday i forgot my camera at my brothers place and today my parents took it back home. So the camera was allready laying in the livingroom. Just had to switch lenses.
I think im going to my neighbours at dinnertime and everytime he wants to take a bite, im taking away his plate and try to revive his steak.....freaking man.
And for all i know the pigeon survived. But i dont really care about that. And i do understand why they feel the need to save a prey, but its just unfair. They only see the pigeon being caught, but they dont see that the hawk is doing this to survive. So now they took this pigeon to a bird centre, which costs money, and the hawk is trying to get his next victim. Hope he doesnt do it in a place like he did this time though.
And the EXIF: all pics were taken at 300mm, ISO400 and a shutterspeed of 1/250 Shot in RAW (as always) and played in PS (levels, USM, contrast and neatimage)

Antarctican · Sep 22, 2007

Isn't it exciting when a great photo-op like that 'lands in your lap' and you have the camera handy? Wonderful series! Nice and sharp, and really catches the fierce look of the predator.