Tom Buckard
July 2025 - Red Shouldered Hawk
Original
About the Image(s)
We are fortunate to have a small pond in our back-yard and it attracts a multitude of birds. During our hot season many Hawks come in to bath, splash and look for anoles and tadpoles. It is a sight to behold to see a big hawk in the water.
Shot with a Nikon D850, ISO-1000, Speed 1/400th of a sec, F6.3, Focal Length 500mm, Lens was an Nikkor 200-500.
15 comments posted
What fun to see the hawk cooling off. It seems to be saying something to you. The reflection is nice touch. You might tone down the bright top of its head and darken the greenery to make it stand out? Posted: 07/08/2025 06:56:02
As usual Leslie your comments are on the mark. I tried darkening the surrounding greenery and and lightening the head of the hawk. What do you think? Posted: 07/08/2025 12:49:36
spot on!! Posted: 07/24/2025 16:54:50
Tom, how interesting it is to see a hawk sitting in a pool of water. The bird's reflection in the water with its mouth open really adds to this story. The catch light is a nice touch as well. The background is a little distracting for me. I applied a mask to the bird and its reflection and made minor adjustments to whites and exposure, and another mask to the background with minor adjustments to exposure and lens blur. I also applied a light vignette. I think this created some separation from the bird and background, but these kinds of adjustments may be contrary to your intentions. What do you think? Posted: 07/10/2025 14:52:15
Jim, I like everything that you did. I think your adjustment definitely made the hawk more prominent. We are lucky here to have a small pond behind our home and hawks are an everyday occurrence. Posted: 07/13/2025 13:06:56
Beautiful bird. A great capture with the bird's mouth open and the reflection in the water all adds to the photo. I do like the changes that Tom and Jim made as I feel that the background is distracting. Well done. Posted: 07/13/2025 00:08:24
Thank you for your comments Marilyn. I certainly agree with everyone that the background needed some help. When is the Wokodahatchee Wetlands the most active? Posted: 07/13/2025 13:13:35
I captured great images during the months of february, March, and April. I didn't get there this year, sadly. Posted: 07/20/2025 20:04:21
I agree, the darkened background hwlps draw one's eye to the hawk. Great pose, he looks ready to strike. Posted: 07/15/2025 18:27:48
Thank you for your comments Don. The darkened background doe make the Hawk stand out a little better. Posted: 07/17/2025 22:21:15
An amazing visitor to your garden. Well caught with it's beak wide open, and some terrific feather detail. The reflection adds to the shot. Great! Posted: 07/17/2025 09:52:12
Mike, lucky for us, this pond is only about 30 feet from my home. Even though it is small we do get a lot of hawks, ibis, Pileated woodpeckers, crows, migrating birds, frogs and turtles. Thank you for your comments Mike.
Posted: 07/17/2025 22:27:11
Posted: 07/17/2025 22:27:11
i asm not a big fan of reflections that are not sharp but this is one is a winner because it documents the cooling off. You are very lucky to have your own pond. Posted: 07/27/2025 08:17:37
Thank you for your comments Michael. Hope you are well on your way to a full recovery. Some of these things take time though. Best wishes... Posted: 07/27/2025 12:17:57
Thanks my coordination is recovering Posted: 07/27/2025 13:47:23