bypolar-bear on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/bypolar-bear/art/My-Hawk-178570136bypolar-bear

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My Hawk

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Description

ok, how to begin. Well, lets start here:

I saved this guy. Just now. I still can't believe it.

This is a Cooper's Hawk. (Thought it was a falcon because it is so small... but I was just notified by someone who is a little more of an expert, with pictures) I was sweeping my room, and because I am allergic to dust, I had the window open, so when a bird started to cry in terror, I immediately went out to find the source. I own cats, and while I love them, one thing I can't stand is their tendency to kill all the beautiful songbirds around here, and I figured that this was what was happening now, so you can imagine my surprise upon approaching the sound to find this poor bird being beat on by a Stellar Jay. It immediately became obvious what happened. This is near where we feed the songbirds, and they are messy creatures, always tossing seeds out to the ground, which mice then come along and help themselves to. Well my falcon here saw an easy meal, and went for a mouse, only to be attacked from above by a Jay, who was mercilessly trying to break his wings or peck his eyes out. Jays will attack raptors any time they think they can get away with it, so this in natural... but I like Falcons, and I don't' care for Jays, so my mind was made up. I ran back in and grabbed a towel (and my camera) and I threw the towel over the mess and got the Jay off his victim. It left after that... needless to say, it figures I was more of a threat than it wanted to deal with, but the falcon seemed to be injured because it didn't fly away, but fortunately, it was just in shock, and after it came out of it, it promptly escaped me (who it most likely assumed meant ill will toward it as well). When it landed on a branch to collect itself, I took this shot, and took a huge sigh of relief, I don't' know what I would have done with an injured falcon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this shot, it sure is a beautiful bird.
Image size
864x1294px 1.1 MB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Shutter Speed
1/320 second
Aperture
F/5.6
Focal Length
300 mm
ISO Speed
1600
Date Taken
Sep 8, 2010, 3:02:05 PM
Sensor Size
4mm
© 2010 - 2024 bypolar-bear
Comments19
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ladyAlyafaelyn's avatar
:star::star::star::star: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Vision
:star::star::star::star-empty::star-empty: Originality
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star: Impact

I gave this photo 4.5 in Vision because the clarity, lighting, composition, and subject matter were beautifully captured spur-of-the-moment. Photos that an artist plans are, generally (in my opinion), easier to capture because they control pretty much everything. You had control over only your camera, and a good thing too! By the way, way to be prepared by grabbing your camera when you went out to help this fabulous falcon!
I gave it a 3 in Originality because (I'm sorry...) it's nothing new under the sun. I gave it a 4 in Technique for pretty much the same reasons I gave for Vision.
I gave it a 5 in Impact because you showed genuine compassion for your subject, and your quick thinking probably saved its life with minimal impact. Not only that, but you watched to make sure it was going to be ok (even if only because you didn't know how to care for it, though I'm sure you would've notified proper authority, blah blah blah). Way to go.