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Spotted!
Spotted!
Nordlys


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Birds III (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
Location: La Jolla, California
Date: Jun 18, 2012
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/60
Date Uploaded: Jun 18, 2012

 A couple weeks ago I started seeing young hawks regularly on my daily lunch-hour walk, and last week I spotted the nest. Now there's always at least one hanging around, and I've seen up to four at a time in a group. I saw activity in the nest less than a week previously, so this may be a recent fledgling.

I'm surprised this came out as well as it did given the 480mm effective focal length with 1/60s shutter speed. Also no tripod and no IS, though I did steady the camera against a tree. Instead of my 60D I used my trusty old 20D, which I keep in my office for "emergencies". San Diego's "June Gloom" helped keep the lighting from being harsh.

Cropped, adjusted levels, added subtle vignette, cloned out sensor dust (my 20d has a *lot*), globally sharpened, selectively sharpened especially around the eyes and beak, and resized. Think that's it.

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Thanks everyone who commented and voted, especially hahn23 for identifying it as a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. I went to both the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park over the weekend to shoot for this challenge, but my best bird photos turned out to be the wild hawk fledglings on the UCSD campus literally across the street from my office. I haven't seen any in the past five days so I figure they've moved on, but I enjoyed them while they were here.

Statistics
Place: 18 out of 110
Avg (all users): 6.4622
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.3654
Avg (non-participants): 6.5373
Views since voting: 777
Views during voting: 267
Votes: 119
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D750
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D
 06/28/2012 11:37:53 PM
The pose is perfect. Stuffed or well-trained? The brights seem a bit burnt on my monitor. 7 giving the benefit of technological aberrations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z7II
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/28/2012 10:43:39 PM
Nice portrait; great model.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-50D
 06/28/2012 05:20:05 PM
Wow this is beautiful
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R6
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 06/27/2012 09:41:24 AM
Very nice clarity in such a beautiful bird.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR
 06/27/2012 05:03:11 AM
Nice photo..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 6s+
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
 06/23/2012 12:03:03 AM
Beautiful bird, and lovely complementary background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7 II
Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS
 06/22/2012 03:25:11 PM
Excellent clarity and detail. Nice pose.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens
 06/22/2012 12:48:56 AM
A very excellent photo of a Cooper's Hawk, juvenile. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7 ASPH
 06/22/2012 12:43:28 AM
Very pretty feathers, and nicely blurred background. Good composition, too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 06/22/2012 12:31:34 AM
Oh. LOVELY!

(commenting only)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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