Another banner Birds of Prey day (major 56k warning)

[Billginthekeys]

well if you guys thought i shot a lot of BoP species yesterday. man today was awesome, they are EVERYWHERE. :eek:

once again i dont have my ID book with me, so any help that can be had would be great.

hawk waving at me
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/5503/hawk2us8.jpg

not the best of my osprey shots by a long shot, but he had a fish, so what the heck
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/9715/img011hr7.jpg

everyone has to itch
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/2857/baldeaglenx8.jpg

some sort of falcon (as usual flying AWAY from me)
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/9821/falcon1ds1.jpg

he hasnt seen me yet, rest assured that won't last forever.
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/8163/falcon2sn8.jpg

yet another falcon
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/4896/falcon3tq3.jpg

another hawk randomly flys by
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/107/hawk1ou2.jpg

[Billginthekeys]

played telephone pole tag with this kestrel down a mile of road on foot. finally managed some shots of him though.
not the most technically perfect shot, but that pose is awesome
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/4784/kestel1ce2.jpg

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/1454/kestrel2ys2.jpg

okay, here you go, i flew right by you, now LEAVE
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/6053/kestrel3sr1.jpg

thanks for viewing, comments much appreciated,

[Billginthekeys]

did i miss the part where no one likes the bird forum anymore? not only am i amazed its been 3 hours with no responce.... but in those 3 hours its not even half way down the page. where is everyone today.

[canonloader]

Well, I was taking a nap. :)

Do you normally have this many hawks, eagles and falcons in Florida? That just seems to be a lot for all in one spot.

[blonde]

out with their families :) it has been really slow in the past few days except for all those random Petkal threads...

as for the shots, i hate you :) i have to travel 50+ miles to find 1 single hawk and you go out and find 5 species in a single days.

great work as always...

[Billginthekeys]

Well, I was taking a nap. :)

Do you normally have this many hawks, eagles and falcons in Florida? That just seems to be a lot for all in one spot.

out with their families :) it has been really slow in the past few days except for all those random Petkal threads...

as for the shots, i hate you :) i have to travel 50+ miles to find 1 single hawk and you go out and find 5 species in a single days.

great work as always...

i know its crazy. we dont normally have this many around. there always some ospreys (although i saw at least ten today), theres a pair of baldies that generally here all year. a few red shoulder/tail hawks are always around. yesterday was the first kestrel ive seen. LOTS of activity around.

[pttenn]

did i miss the part where no one likes the bird forum anymore? not only am i amazed its been 3 hours with no responce.... but in those 3 hours its not even half way down the page. where is everyone today.

SOME of us had to WORK....yuck and bah humbug. I'd rather be out shooting pictures.
Karen

[pttenn]

By the way you had some great shots there!
Karen

[TARPONTIM]

Great shots Billy did you have any more crash and burns today. Ha Ha

[Billginthekeys]

thanks for the comments all.

no tim, no crashes today. a lot of running and moving the car around. but no spills.

[Anthony J Howe]

did i miss the part where no one likes the bird forum anymore? not only am i amazed its been 3 hours with no responce.... but in those 3 hours its not even half way down the page. where is everyone today.
My daughter visited today with her two little daughters and they are havoc to have around, well that's my excuse Billy. :confused:
You certainly had a feast in getting a good selection of birds of prey, they seem to be attracted to you and flying your way, well done a good series.

[Gary Fairhead]

did i miss the part where no one likes the bird forum anymore? not only am i amazed its been 3 hours with no responce.... but in those 3 hours its not even half way down the page. where is everyone today.

Nice series of some great looking birds:D

I was 3 hours from home on an island ...part of the day was playing tag with a Kestrel along a road where he would take off just as we pulled up in the car and land 50 yards away on the same wire...never did get a decent shot so I am envious of the ones you have here. Nice series of some great looking birds:D

[Alex Paul]

Wow Bill!!! What a day you had......Wonderful series.....Alex

[Billginthekeys]

I was 3 hours from home on an island ...part of the day was playing tag with a Kestrel along a road where he would take off just as we pulled up in the car and land 50 yards away on the same wire...never did get a decent shot so I am envious of the ones you have here. Nice series of some great looking birds:D
its annoying isnt it. at least if they flew away you wouldnt have to worry about it, but they keep mocking you :p


thanks for the comments all.

[Paul A]

Nice shots Bill, I'm used to seeing all the aquatic stuff, herons etc. from Florida. Well done, great day of birding!!

[Billginthekeys]

Nice shots Bill, I'm used to seeing all the aquatic stuff, herons etc. from Florida. Well done, great day of birding!!
yep, i am too, but there are a lot of migratory species down right now, so i had to switch gears. its amazing, never seen so many in one area.

[Reyno]

Whatta Day!!! Great captures Billy.

[nitefrogger]

[quote=Billginthekeys;2312360]its annoying isnt it. at least if they flew away you wouldnt have to worry about it, but they keep mocking you :p

[nitefrogger]

[quote=Billginthekeys;2312360]its annoying isnt it. at least if they flew away you wouldnt have to worry about it, but they keep mocking you :p

What happened? :confused:

I'll try to get in a reply this time!:rolleyes:

I was going to say that they Do fly away for me- every time I get anywhere near. I wish they'd mock me- at least I'd have some hope!

Wonderful series- it must have been fun!

[Billginthekeys]

[quote=Billginthekeys;2312360]its annoying isnt it. at least if they flew away you wouldnt have to worry about it, but they keep mocking you :p

What happened? :confused:

I'll try to get in a reply this time!:rolleyes:

I was going to say that they Do fly away for me- every time I get anywhere near. I wish they'd mock me- at least I'd have some hope!

Wonderful series- it must have been fun!
they just stay ever so in, and get just out of your reach. moving just a bit furhter down the line, staying in sight, you can get pretty close to them, but the second you raise your camera they fly another 50 feet or so. wait for you. lol its like a game :mad:. i was just lucky because he got to the end of the line and had to fly back at me :D

[Canon_Bob]

Nice shots Bill. I'm out tomorrow shooting as well. The Osprey are EVERYWHERE here in Ft Myers. You can't look up while driving down Daniels parkway without seeing at least 10 circling above. Time to make that 100-400 earn it's keep! I've also got some Sandhills to shoot as well. Gotta love this time of year in SW Florida!!!

[Billginthekeys]

Nice shots Bill. I'm out tomorrow shooting as well. The Osprey are EVERYWHERE here in Ft Myers. You can't look up while driving down Daniels parkway without seeing at least 10 circling above. Time to make that 100-400 earn it's keep! I've also got some Sandhills to shoot as well. Gotta love this time of year in SW Florida!!!
yea... and ospreys are everywhere in Ft Myers usually. yea i agree, they are thick down here in the keys right now too. you could easily see dozens of seperate birds in a few miles of coast.

[puddlepirate44]

Those are great shots, Bill. I gotta say, that eagle scratching his head has me cracking up; not really sure why, but I think it's hilarious! :lol:

[Billginthekeys]

Those are great shots, Bill. I gotta say, that eagle scratching his head has me cracking up; not really sure why, but I think it's hilarious! :lol:
thanks. yea it cracked me up at the time too. you see hes kind of like my "pet" eagle. he hangs out on that telephone pole like every day, so i always know where to find him. it just so happened one of the falcons landed down the wire from him. so i stopped to shoot the falcon, and the eagle was cleaning himself. when he started scratching himself i had to get a shot, just seems like a cool shot, not your typical majestic shot.

[puddlepirate44]

... not your typical majestic shot.

Yeah, like seeing a "behind the scenes" candid shot of some glamour star. What did you use for these shots, if I may ask...

[Billginthekeys]

Yeah, like seeing a "behind the scenes" candid shot of some glamour star. What did you use for these shots, if I may ask...
my 20D and 400 5.6 was used for all of these shots. its really my favorite birding setup, espcically for flyers, and especially when im shooting out of my car. its small, light, i can pull off the road, jump out, take the shot, get back in, go to the next spot without setting up a tripod or monopod. heck i didnt even have a strap on the camera yesterday.

[puddlepirate44]

... heck i didnt even have a strap on the camera yesterday.

Thrillseeker.

Another question, as I'm trying to capture my first successful bird shots, do you use AI Servo?

[PADARREN]

Gotta love that Bald Eagle Itch.

[Billginthekeys]

Thrillseeker.

Another question, as I'm trying to capture my first successful bird shots, do you use AI Servo?
yea i use servo all the time for birding. i would rather have to try harder to shoot a still bird and be ready for it to fly than be in one shot, get a good still shot, and be shafted when he flys.