January 20, 2021 — Point Reyes National Seashore, California
It’s been a minute — maybe several — since I’ve posted wildlife. I’ve been concentrating on abstract and impressionistic seascapes. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love to shoot wildlife — photographically.
A couple weeks ago, The Muse and I went out to the Tomales Point trail for a long hike in celebration of significant click on my personal chronometer. It was a sunny day. Mild breeze. We brought cameras — we always bring cameras — but we expected the outing to be mostly exercise.
Then came the birds. (Not those birds. Those birds were a few miles north in Bodega Bay and more than a few years ago.) No, these birds were raptors. Up to ten at a time. Red-tailed hawks, kites, and falcons. Among them was this grand red-tailed hunter. We stopped and photographed them for more than two hours, only a mile or so from the trailhead. That’s as far as we got.
This one patrolled south to north along the ridge, went as far north as the Windy Gap and circled around to the south to repeat the pattern. One pattern every 20 minutes. On the fourth pass he kited directly over us for several minutes. We wondered if we were being considered for the lunch menu, but we were only one thing he looked at as he scrutinized the ground below. At one point we locked eyes.
And for that minute it was like High Noon. But I was beneath him. He was clearly superior.
(Nikon D500, Tamron 100–400mm f/4.5–6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 4.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
AMAGA Photography Blog 
He really is, isn’t he? And what a look!!! Brilliant capture.
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He really is. And I’ll say that it’s a bit of a frightening moment. Thank you. It was a thrilling, reverent couple of hours.
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I’ll bet!
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Happy belated personal chronometer click.
Even with your lens zoomed to 400mm , did you have to crop later to get as close-looking a portrait as we see in the second picture?
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Thank you very much, Steve. This one ended with a zero. The close-up is a crop of the full frame, which itself is slightly cropped. 400mm on a crop sensor Nikon equals the equivalent of 600mm.
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I had a feeling your chronometer reading ended in a zero. The last time I had one of those I invited friends over to an Indian restaurant in our neighborhood. Imagine that: a bunch of people eating in close proximity to one another and not a mask in sight.
Not being in the Nikon world, I hadn’t picked up on the fact that you used a camera with a 1.5X crop factor. Even so, it’s not surprising you had to crop your full frame.
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Those were the days…
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Aye, and unlikely to return this year.
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Sigh…
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Majestic bird and good shot of it. I love going to Point Reyes for photography.
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Thank you very much. We also love Point Reyes and we get out there as often as we can.
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Out of this world!!!
Stunning!!!!
And your flair with words in your verbal account of the experience, is the icing on the cake,.
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Thank you very much. It was quite an afternoon! And I’m glad I was able to ice the cake to your liking.
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Love this! Such a beautiful creature!
I have to say I always enjoy your pictures.
I hope you and your muse are doing well
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Thank you very much. The Muse and I are doing well.
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A grand creature!!
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Indeed. Thank you very much. Thanks for stopping by
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Wow, how obliging!
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Yes. Mighty nice of him.
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That’s quite an intense gaze you captured.
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Thank you. I have to say it was a little bit unnerving.
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Wonderful pictures, rather like our Buzzard >>> and of course you’re talking to an ex-birder here! 🙂
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Thank you. Two cultures separated by a common language. What we call a buzzard eats nothing but carrion.
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I love these shots! Especially the close-up. that bird is certainly communicating!
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Thanks. He certainly was.
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Making full eye contact with a bird — or any creature — is a wonderful experience, and an opportunity worth waiting for. Beyond that, the intricacy of the underwing feather patterns is wonderful , and you captured it well.
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Thank you. And yes a spiritual thrill.
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What a beauty—bird and photograph.
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Thank you very much! It was a real spiritual experience.
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He sure does look like he is superior! Wonderful image 🙂
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Acts like it too. Thank you.
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Beautiful, Michael – one of the pleasures of winter is seeing more birds of prey. 🙂
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Thank you. And a true fact. 😊
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Rules the sky – an amazing shot of an amazing bird!
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Thank you. It was a very spiritual moment.
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Impressive shot. Thanks
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Thank YOU.
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