Eagle sighting on the way home tonight...

01/10/2007 11:36:54 PM · #1

I frequently see a hawk near the road in this country area I go thru on the way home from work. Tonight I thought this was the hawk at first (from a distance), then noticed it was an eagle. Had to go another 1/2 mile before I could turnaround and pull off on a side road about 200 feet away from this bird.

I have a gazillion excuses for image quality - I'll save most of them for some other time. Sure wish I had more reach than the 70-300 gave me.

Anyway, was able to get a couple of shots off before the extra activity scared it off (had a few people join me to ask questions, etc...). It was fun while it lasted. :D

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/10/2007 11:44:44 PM · #2

That's cool! I have a few shots of some eagles I took at my dad's in November -- I'll try to get around to posting them.

Earlier today I was up in a San Francisco highrise and saw what I'm guessing is a Peregrine Falcon -- I know there are some which nest near there. I'll try to post that too ...

PeregrineCam site

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/10/2007 11:47:32 PM · #3

Originally posted by glad2badad:

Sure wish I had more reach than the 70-300 gave me.

you gotta get a Bigma :D

Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical for Canon

01/10/2007 11:51:08 PM · #4

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Thanks! I've read about the falcons in the highrise buildings. Pretty interesting how they've adapted. Don't they go after the pigeons big time?

dv_rock

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

01/10/2007 11:51:33 PM · #5

Eagles win vs Saints on Saturday!!!!!

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/10/2007 11:52:00 PM · #6

Originally posted by ShutterPug:

Originally posted by glad2badad:
Sure wish I had more reach than the 70-300 gave me.

you gotta get a Bigma :D

Gotta get a bigger savings account! :D

That would be fun to have. Enjoying yours?

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

01/10/2007 11:54:31 PM · #7

I only wish I could be out with my Bigma shooting the eagles and wildlife. It has been 20-30 degrees BELOW zero the past few days and all I have been dealing with is my frozen/broken water pipes. :(

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/10/2007 11:56:33 PM · #8

Originally posted by glad2badad:

Thanks! I've read about the falcons in the highrise buildings. Pretty interesting how they've adapted. Don't they go after the pigeons big time?

Yeah, though not enough to impact the population. Pigeons are actually Rock Doves, and are related to the heroic carrier pigeons of WW I -- there's a new book out all about them ... they've gotten a bit of a bad rap just in the past few decades.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

01/11/2007 12:05:27 AM · #9

Yikes! 30 below? I'd stay inside too! :D

...anyway, nothing personal - but I need to sign out and hit the sheets. 5:00am comes early.

Thanks for taking a peek and for the feedback.

Look forward to seeing the photos you mentioned Paul.

angela_packard

Canon EOS-20D

01/11/2007 12:07:53 AM · #10

Originally posted by ShutterPug:

I only wish I could be out with my Bigma shooting the eagles and wildlife. It has been 20-30 degrees BELOW zero the past few days and all I have been dealing with is my frozen/broken water pipes. :(

that's a real bummer....darn! we are dealing with no pellot stone working and we are almost out of propane...with no money of course...i guess i shouldn't have bought my lighting! oh well!

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/11/2007 02:15:24 AM · #11

I just cropped the birds out of much larger areas of water, with no adjusting (except the one on the bottom-right) or resampling; I did some global sharpening once I'd made the composite.

I probably should have shot at ISO 200 so I could get a faster shutter speed, but I didn't have much time except to grab the camera and get outside -- they only paused on that float for a minute.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/11/2007 03:40:12 PM · #12

Here is what I'm pretty sure is a Peregrine Falcon. I was already on the 19th floor when I took these.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

01/11/2007 08:34:53 PM · #13

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Here is what I'm pretty sure is a Peregrine Falcon. I was already on the 19th floor when I took these.

Looks like there are two in the larger image. One in the sky and one on top of the building (left side)?

I like the way you put this collage together.

BTW - In the exact same tree there was another eagle this morning on the way in. The lighting was perfect! :( Really, really wanted to stop, but also really, really, didn't want to be late to work. :0 The one there this morning was a juvenile. It was the same size and had the head and beak, but didn't have the white head yet.

Maybe tomorrow morning? Going to leave a little earlier!

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

01/11/2007 10:38:58 PM · #14

Yup - the eagles are back. We awoke this morning to bright blue sky and frigid cold and wind after a little snow yesterday. I walked out and three eagles were soaring above my house, two were chasing off one.

Here are the two who were quite high up:

and here is the one who came screaming down at me (my excuse for the bad photos):

But I did get this one coming right at me awhile ago. Used it for an old business card:

Message edited by author 2007-01-11 23:05:04.

PhantomEWO

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/11/2007 11:30:53 PM · #15

I just spent three weeks in Utah. I must have seen a hundred or more bald eagles throughout the state. Great to see the population coming back.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

01/11/2007 11:37:33 PM · #16

I don't know much about birds and this is probably not even the right thread to ask but the other day I saw a hawk in my yard attack another small bird but he ended up dropping it and it flew away. Is that common birds eating birds?

RayEthier

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

01/12/2007 12:29:56 AM · #17

Originally posted by yanko:

It is for hawks, falcons and other birds of prey. In the spring, crows will prey on young birds in nests and gulls will attack, kill and eat members of their own flock that are injured.

Ray

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

01/12/2007 12:33:00 AM · #18

Originally posted by yanko:

More than likely a Coopers Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk (they look almost identical) who feed mainly on other birds.

Message edited by author 2007-01-12 22:21:33.