On 9/22/2012 3:49 AM, Bob W wrote:
That said, I also found this shot which I didn't realize I had. I
think it's a Red Tail Hawk, since it's hawk-like in appearance and
has a vaguely red tail.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/walt_gilbert/7997746702/#large
That's a lovely shot.
Thank you, Bob!
Not all hawks are solitary hunters, as I've just discovered. Yesterday
when I was down by the Cutty Sark I saw an enormous raptor fly over it
and land on a nearby roof. It was smaller than a buzzard and had a
distinctive white marking at the base of the tail, underneath. It was
a lot bigger than a kestrel - there are quite of few of them around
here. Of course, I didn't have a camera with me. I watched it as I
approached, but it flew off before I got a good close look, and I
didn't see where it flew to. A bit of internet digging, and I think it
was a Harris Hawk, which is apparently the only one known to hunt
cooperatively: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Harris's_Hawk#intro>
and seems to be a popular bird for scaring away the pigeons. I didn't
see any handlers, but it did have a strap on its leg so I guess the
handler must have been around somewhere. It was a beautiful bird. I
wish I could have got a shot of it. B
This one turned out to be the first decent shot of a hawk I've ever
gotten. There's no telling how many times I've seen them flying -- one
even flew very low past my house one morning while I was sitting on the
front porch trying to catch songbirds taking off from the feeders. I
just wasn't able to get into a decent position to capture it in time as
it caught me completely by surprise. All other times, it's been as
though they see me holding a camera and stay out of sight only to come
out when I'm not prepared -- either with no camera at all, or with a
camera fitted with a 50mm prime.
Hope you get another crack at that Harris Hawk!
-- Walt
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
