When I was up at Trempealeau NWR a couple of years ago...I was walking on this lane atop a dike. There was this molty Cardinal that I was considering a shot of on an exposed branch hanging over the path. All of a sudden you could here another bird near the Cardinal, but in the shadows, screech bloody murder. Out of nowhere a Northern Harrier swooped in...grabbed the screaming bird...do a 180 and go back the way it came clutching his catch...it all took 2 seconds and no I did not get a shot. Before I could figure out what was going on...it was over.
How that hawk could put on the brakes, pull in it's wings, grab it's prey and accelerate away so quickly seems nearly impossible.
Good stuff! The BBC puts out so much great nature stuff. I have the "Planet Earth" and "Life" series and am amazed at what they capture and what they go through to get them.
When I was up at Trempealeau NWR a couple of years ago...I was walking on this lane atop a dike. There was this molty Cardinal that I was considering a shot of on an exposed branch hanging over the path. All of a sudden you could here another bird near the Cardinal, but in the shadows, screech bloody murder. Out of nowhere a Northern Harrier swooped in...grabbed the screaming bird...do a 180 and go back the way it came clutching his catch...it all took 2 seconds and no I did not get a shot. Before I could figure out what was going on...it was over.
How that hawk could put on the brakes, pull in it's wings, grab it's prey and accelerate away so quickly seems nearly impossible.
I've been up in the mountains before, and seen them dropping from high in the sky down into a valley to catch some prey. Their wings are tucked in and they're just dropping like a stone. It's absolutely shocking how fast they go. That video really drove it home for me. Yeah, the deceleration end of it just seems impossible.
Good stuff.. I live near the Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River in NY.
I used to live in Tomkins Cove, on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. That's where I developed my interest in raptors, and birds in general. I have a whole gallery of eagle shots from that area. They migrate down the Hudson from Canada during the winter when the river freezes further up north. So they're only around for a couple of months. That is the thing I miss the most about living in NY, the birds.
I used to live in Tomkins Cove, on a hill overlooking the Hudson River. That's where I developed my interest in raptors, and birds in general. I have a whole gallery of eagle shots from that area. They migrate down the Hudson from Canada during the winter when the river freezes further up north. So they're only around for a couple of months. That is the thing I miss the most about living in NY, the birds.
Nice shots- we had an Eagle that nested in the parking lot of Shoprite in West Nyack- had a lot of attention!
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:wow Amazing...thanks, Joel.
When I was up at Trempealeau NWR a couple of years ago...I was walking on this lane atop a dike. There was this molty Cardinal that I was considering a shot of on an exposed branch hanging over the path. All of a sudden you could here another bird near the Cardinal, but in the shadows, screech bloody murder. Out of nowhere a Northern Harrier swooped in...grabbed the screaming bird...do a 180 and go back the way it came clutching his catch...it all took 2 seconds and no I did not get a shot. Before I could figure out what was going on...it was over.
How that hawk could put on the brakes, pull in it's wings, grab it's prey and accelerate away so quickly seems nearly impossible.
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Almost as interesting as the wildlife shots!
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
After all that you have to cool off the wings
http://kadvantage.smugmug.com/
Link to my Smugmug site
There are a fair amount of Falcons and Hawks here.. they nest in the rocky cliffs of the Palisades.
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/about/explorations/february2010/peregrine/
They have been known to nest in the swanky baclonies of the upper west side condos of NYC!
Link to my Smugmug site
Nice shots- we had an Eagle that nested in the parking lot of Shoprite in West Nyack- had a lot of attention!
I'm in Pearl River..