Bird ID Help, and C&C requested

Took these while I was chasing the Red Tail Hawks around. This guy was hovering near me, he was much smaller than the hawks. I looked in my Bird ID book and cannot get a match. Second photo is the bird getting his afternoon snack. And another question, the quality is not where I like it, this guy and the hawks were out of range of the 400, got to crop alot to get these shots even. Is this the way it is in bird photography or am I doing something wrong. Thanks for all your help, this board is great

I'd say that's a American Kestral.
Odd....looks like he got himself a Dragonfly in the last frame!??

Nice captures!!

You didn't do anything wrong.....long range shots are tough no matter what focal length ya got.
Esp against the sky and getting proper exposure. You did fine!!

Graphyfotoz wrote in post #2029290
I'd say that's a American Kestral.
Odd....looks like he got himself a Dragonfly in the last frame!??

Nice captures!!

You didn't do anything wrong.....long range shots are tough no matter what focal length ya got.
Esp against the sky and getting proper exposure. You did fine!!

Thank you for the ID and comments. I wish I had 800mm of length for these, but it would not be easy to hike with Its funny, in my bird book, the american kestrel looks much more colorful

calicokat wrote in post #2029296
Thank you for the ID and comments. I wish I had 800mm of length for these, but it would not be easy to hike with Its funny, in my bird book, the american kestrel looks much more colorful

The big thing to look at is the head markings.
Also the legs and size.
It almost passes as a Peregrine Falcon cept for size and the legs.
A Peregrine has a lot of feathers halfway down the legs as this one doesn't.
Peregrine is also about 50% bigger.
Head markings are similar but different.

Can't go by color when in the air as the sky washes out his true colors that far away.

Markings on the Head and the legs is what I base my findings on.

About the 800mm.....
#1 the cost would be unreal unless you get a 1.4 tele but then your shutter speed is a lot lower!
#2 Panning and getting a clear image would be a PITA.

What you got is about as good as it gets for such a long shot.

HINT:
About these lil guys.....
They tend to land on wires and posts fairly close to the ground to survey the land often.
That's when you can catch a nice clear image and possible true colors.

Example from my Birders forum (not a shot I took)

http://www.birdforum.n​et/

Graphyfotoz wrote in post #2029343
The big thing to look at is the head markings.
Also the legs and size.
It almost passes as a Peregrine Falcon cept for size and the legs.
A Peregrine has a lot of feathers halfway down the legs as this one doesn't.
Peregrine is also about 50% bigger.
Head markings are similar but different.

Can't go by color when in the air as the sky washes out his true colors that far away.

Markings on the Head and the legs is what I base my findings on.

About the 800mm.....
#1 the cost would be unreal unless you get a 1.4 tele but then your shutter speed is a lot lower!
#2 Panning and getting a clear image would be a PITA.

What you got is about as good as it gets for such a long shot.

HINT:
About these lil guys.....
They tend to land on wires and posts fairly close to the ground to survey the land often.
That's when you can catch a nice clear image and possible true colors.

Thanks for the awesome info, I keep on learning. I love photographing birds, its very addictive and satisfying

Look at the post in that pic. He has landed there before. Hmmm, maybe a tell tale sign to camp out on.

That's a great set of pics..

Very good in-flight shots.

Sp00ks wrote in post #2031014
Look at the post in that pic. He has landed there before. Hmmm, maybe a tell tale sign to camp out on.

Sure looks like he likes this perch

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #2031202
That's a great set of pics..

Thank you for the comment

Sindri Skulason wrote in post #2031550
Very good in-flight shots.

Thank you, in flight shots are tough