Red-shouldered Hawk when i was about to give up hope

[matthewo]

I was lucky enough to see this guy right as I was about to leave the park, about 25 feet at my eye level very surprised he let me get many pictures in 3 or 4 different spots.

1)

2)

3)

4)
I may have scared the poo out of him,

 

[cgipson1]

Nice... lovely raptor!

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice shots - it was good of him to pose for you. I like the third one the best. I have found after following raptors and owls around the countryside, that they often poop just before they take off. I often use that as a sign to get ready for some possible BIF pics. Did this guy take off after doing his thing in #4?

WesternGuy

 

[Ron Evers]

Very nice captures.

 

[sm4him]

Beautiful shots!

Nice shots - it was good of him to pose for you. I like the third one the best. I have found after following raptors and owls around the countryside, that they often poop just before they take off. I often use that as a sign to get ready for some possible BIF pics. Did this guy take off after doing his thing in #4?

WesternGuy

Good tip, WesternGuy! I'm generally so surprised when a bird takes off, if I manage to get a shot off at all, it's a big blurry mess.

 

[ceeboy14]

Beautiful shots!

Nice shots - it was good of him to pose for you. I like the third one the best. I have found after following raptors and owls around the countryside, that they often poop just before they take off. I often use that as a sign to get ready for some possible BIF pics. Did this guy take off after doing his thing in #4?

WesternGuy

Good tip, WesternGuy! I'm generally so surprised when a bird takes off, if I manage to get a shot off at all, it's a big blurry mess.

Anticipation just takes practice...looking for telling signs like WG suggests as per them pooping then fleeing. Once those wings twitch, I start shooting. I'd rather toss a lot of misses than miss one good BIF.

I have the advantage of being able to shoot six frames per second which certainly aids in getting at least one decent capture , but not always.

 

[ceeboy14]

The second one seems a bit over-sharpened but the rest, spot on in everything. Nice shots!

 

[shefjr]

Great captures! My fav is number 3. It's almost like he/she is looking at you like WTF do you want.

 

[The Barbarian]

Gorgeous shots. I took a shot of one this morning, on my walk with the dog, but it's not nearly as good as these. Never saw one at the pond before.

 

[matthewo]

thanks, yes he did fly about 50-100 feet after this. the brush and trees where so thick flight shots where nearly impossibly.

i was using a better beamer with most of them cause this was in a heavy wooded area with very low light

 

[Aloicious]

nice! good catch.