Harrier Fields

For the last two seasons I've been wanting to photograph male Northern Harriers in flight. I've photographed to death the females but I never seemed to get the timing right for the males. So I one of the goals I had for myself was to get a good look/shot of a male this season.

I found 3 females and 2 males this afternoon. I think I got some good looks. Regardless, watching the hunting was fun as usual. Saw two females nab their prey and one of the males caught one but dropped it as he took to the air.

The white/gray ones are the males. Hope to get some when the sky is blue :)

It's interesting why most of the time we see the females, eh?

My favorite is the first one. The third one looks good, too. Got to love the snow...but not when it's dumping down hard and for weeks like we had here :mad2: The last one has good eye contact, but I prefer other wing position. When did the harrier star soaring like that?

Great shots Loupey. I really like that last one the eye contact really gives it impact.

That last BIF shot of the male is stunning. I think a blue sky would've actually taken away from teat shot. Nice work as always Loupey.

Thanks a lot, guys!

I like how the last one turned out (Jaedon - I think you're right about a blue sky competing with the harrier). An even better shot would have been exactly 1 frame after this that I missed:

I was tracking this male on this particular approach while he was still very far away. As he got closer and closer, I kept getting shots of him looking down. Despite being in camo, the moment he saw me (this one frame) he instantly banked up and to his right. The very next shot showed a full wing spread and flared tail from beneath. But because I was tracking his forward progress with the focus manually, the moment he pulled up the focus came off of him (short focus).

Still, I'm happy with the investment of time spent :)

Those are absolutely great shots, and I think the weather was an aid. Some of the best shots I've seen. The first one is awesome, but might be even better with a little cropping. The one with the eye contact is very special.
Hunting like that is the most fun, I think. And don't feel bad. Many times when I get close like that, I miss something that I know would have made a most exceptional shot. I can't count the number of times deer have suddenly jumped a fence or started to kick each other and I've sat there like a dummy with my finger on the shutter release or haven't been in focus.

Excellent captures on all!! Cool to see them in the snow!!

Very cool shots indeed Loupey , love them all :)

All very, very nice! :)

My favourite would be #4, love how you perfectly captured those snow flakes in mid-air and great composition. Also particularly like the last one for the bird's eye-contact with the camera.

MF or AF? And I see a 50D was used, but what lens?

Ron - thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, somedays the "misses" far outnumber the "hits". But that makes some subjects that much more desirable. The worst miss-to-hit ratio subject I've come across so far are warblers - blasted fast birds they are.

Eric - glad you like the snow flakes - not a combination you see often in FL :p

Knight - thanks for looking - although you probably have too much snow flakes whirling around up there!

A.M.D.A. - thanks for the feedback. These were all with the 500mm (it hardly ever comes off the 50D anymore) and all were MF. I was about the try out the AF on the female as she would have been perfect against the monotone background. But then the males showed up and I wasn't about the try something new with a target bird flying about. So I'm still waiting for an expendable day/subject to try the AF.

Here's another image of the male. This frame is just one frame before the #4 image and shows the harrier at 1/2 wingbeat prior.

Cropped tighter and recomposed in PP.

I like this one the most. The contrast of a bird of prey against a snowy backdrop is just an awesome juxtaposition of imagery.... yes I was reading my thesaurus this morning =P

Great images, Loupey :) Would love to know what it was thinking in that one where it's staring right at you :D Really like that one, but also the snowy images, great seasonal shots full of atmosphere - the one you just posted and no.4 are my favourites :)

Did you get cold fingers???

Mette

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jaedon

I like this one the most. The contrast of a bird of prey against a snowy backdrop is just an awesome juxtaposition of imagery.... yes I was reading my thesaurus this morning =P

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Jaedon - thanks for the very nice words. I'm torn between this last one and #4 - looking / not looking at the camera and the wing positions give two completely different feels. Not sure yet which "feel" I want to convey :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pink Dragonfly

Great images, Loupey :) Would love to know what it was thinking in that one where it's staring right at you :D Really like that one, but also the snowy images, great seasonal shots full of atmosphere - the one you just posted and no.4 are my favourites :)

Did you get cold fingers???

Mette

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Hi, Mette - thanks for looking!

I know what he was thinking - "what the... BANK, BANK!" :)

I know we've talked about gloves before, but I've been trying out a new pair during the last few weeks. They're those mittens that flip open to become fingerless gloves. I've used them before but never liked them. But the new pair employs thinsulate and is thin enough that I can actually operate all the controls of the camera while still covered as mittens. The day before yesterday was the coldest day so far (-5 degrees fahrenheit, -20 degrees celsius) with blowing winds. I had to walk backwards and still it felt like my eyeballs were freezing. The mittens/gloves worked great. I had to take them off to find my keys and put away my gear and during just those few minutes without the mitts nearly gave me frostbite.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loupey

I know we've talked about gloves before, but I've been trying out a new pair during the last few weeks. They're those mittens that flip open to become fingerless gloves. I've used them before but never liked them. But the new pair employs thinsulate and is thin enough that I can actually operate all the controls of the camera while still covered as mittens. The day before yesterday was the coldest day so far (-5 degrees fahrenheit, -20 degrees celsius) with blowing winds. I had to walk backwards and still it felt like my eyeballs were freezing. The mittens/gloves worked great. I had to take them off to find my keys and put away my gear and during just those few minutes without the mitts nearly gave me frostbite.

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Where did you get them?

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Originally Posted by AgingEyes

Where did you get them?

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JCPenney's. They also have them in gray.

That last male in the first thread is simply amazing!

Another encounter with a male harrier last week.

This is auto-focus #2. He was flying quite fast so I wanted to test it. On this run, I started shooting before the AF locked on to see how long it would take before the focus caught up to the raptor. In burst mode, I lost the first 4 shots completely due to out-of-focus. But it did get this and the next two frames.

Actually, this one is a "miss" as the focus had just reached the tail and the head end was still OOF.

Not too bad.

Not bad at all! :) Probably, certainly, much better than I'd ever hope of getting...

I love the way the harrier "pops out" from the background, especially with those jet-black wingtips. Good work.

Very good, I like the last one in #11 for the eye contact.
Ciao
Franco

#4 is my fav! If looks could kill, #5 would work. :D This is one critter I have not seen here in Illinois.
Very nice Loupey.

A.M.D.A., frapuchi, SARtech - thanks a bunches for looking - I appreciate the comments!

BTW, I thought winter was over a few weeks ago (temps hit 40's and 50's, no snow left on the ground). But it is snowing as I speak so perhaps another few trips to the harrier grounds will be in the forecast.