Kestrel Portrait Photo

Photographer’s Note

Kestrel Portrait
Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve & Bird Observatory
Duluth, Minnesota.

Every autumn Hawk Ridge becomes a major attraction in Duluth. Tens of thousands of migrating raptors move down the coast of the Great Lake Superior and past the observatory.

I spent a couple of mornings at Hawk Ridge this season. This is the best of my shots .. thanks to the fact that this poor little gal had been captured at the banding station .. after banding the birds are brought out and shown to the crowd before release .. if you wish to donate an "adoption fee" you can have the opportunity to release the bird yourself.

The colorful American Kestrel is the most common falcon in North America. Kestrel's are well known for their "hover hunting" behavior.

The migration past Hawk Ridge runs from mid August through November and is most active during mid September. Raptor watching is best in mid day (unlike most wildlife watching). The ridge is staffed every day during September and October.

During migration, weather and geography cause these birds to concentrate into groups that number in the thousands. These large groups are referred to as “kettles.”

The workshop image is a kettle of Broad Winged Hawks (pretty large birds) riding the thermals over the ridge .. an incredible and common site at Hawk Ridge in the fall.

the total count at the observatory from this fall is stunning:
2 Red Shouldered Hawk
2 Mississippi Kite
3 Short Eared Owl
6 Swainson's Hawk
59 Cooper's Hawk
65 Peregrine Falcon
136 Merlin Falcon
169 Golden Eagle
184 Northern Goshawk
238 Osprey
344 Northern Harrier
534 Rough Legged Hawk
906 Turkey Vultures
1162 American Kestrel Falcon
3238 Bald Eagles
6044 Red Tailed Hawk
12608 Sharp Shinned Hawk
35781 Broad Wing Hawk

more information on the Hawk Ridge Observatory:
http://www.hawkridge.org/

other bird facts on this post are from:
whatbird.com
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Kestrel.html

Didi, AROBN54, Dyerco, bakes888, jorgi, danos, fulvio52, adores, alainh, siolaw, Charo, Cricri, jhm, pablominto, mvdisco, gunbud, riclopes, feather, Waylim, gracious, leo61, Atousa, plimrn, Angshu, Bandit, Csilla, MLINES, Katherine-, parbo, jwmunro has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (36639) 2008-12-08 14:22

Hi John,
Wonderfull portrait of this cute kestrel.
Well seen and captured. Nice background and good usefull notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

migelo (2) 2008-12-08 15:23

Very sharp photo. This is an interesting bird. Your background is blurred nicely and the bird is perfectly in focus.
Thanks for sharing this photo

[3]

AROBN54 (10721) 2008-12-08 15:51

Oh, it's beautiful, John!!
I LOVE bird photos and this is awesome. Exquisite detail, wonderful color, excellent composition, perfect bokeh... I love the patterns you can see so clearly in the feathers and you got a nice light in its eye, too. This is just wonderful! Great shot and great note. Many thanks and warmest regards,
Shelly

Csilla (1782) 2008-12-08 21:18

Hi John!
Very nice shot of this interesting, beautiful colorful bird. Beautiful portrait with so many lovely details.
Thanks for your informative note!
Regards, Csilla

Dyerco (9018) 2008-12-08 23:00

Hi John
This a superb portrait of this magnificent little bird. The bird is sharp and the BG is nicely out of focus.
Phil

bakes888 (18129) 2008-12-09 0:07

Hi John. We have hawks around our area year round but I haven’t been able to get close enough for a deceit shot yet. Excellent portrait. Good detail and smooth bokeh. Your WS looks like something from a Hitchcock film ;-). Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

jorgi (3798) 2008-12-09 2:13

Hi John,

I will be honest..I would prefer the portrait of this magnificent bird made with the bird being free in its natural environment...
However...the quality and fantastic realisation are not in question here. The focus is superb...so is the depth.
The Kestrel looks magnificent althouth I sense the fear in its eyes... A portrait with captured emotion...priceless.
The fact that these birds are released provides me with comfort and gratitude.

My best,
Jeri

danos (32228) 2008-12-09 6:52

Hello John,
great the view of this hawk with his penetrating glance to be so well captured. Your zoom captured an exciting moment.The details are unique.Well done.

Regards,Danos

darek1978 (11165) 2008-12-09 8:32

Hello John,
What a fantastic bird picture, beautiful bokheh, nice color and sharpness on the eyes! This is very well captured! Congratulations!!
Regards,
Darek

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-12-09 9:48

Hi, John.
Lovely portrait of this magnificent little fellow against a perfect background. Extremely soulful and technically superb, TFS! Have a good day, my dear friend. I'll be seeing you.
Hugs,
Fulvio.

adores (15469) 2008-12-09 15:29

Hi John!
It's perfect, I especially like the way it seems to be looking at the camera. A perfect moment and a good composition.

angela926 (1882) 2008-12-09 17:32

Hello John,
Fantastic portrait of this wonderful bird of prey, absolutely beautiful colors, superb sharpness and details, nice depth of field, great pose and lovely oof background.
angela

alainh (35359) 2008-12-09 23:04

hello John
excellent !! what a good light and focus. proud and beautiful bird.
a master piece
have a nice day John
alain

siolaw (25720) 2008-12-10 0:10

Hi John
Excellent quality portrait of the bird with clear details, textures and colors and a good placement on the side with neutral, blurred BG isolating the subjet...
Well done
Laurent

Charo (31665) 2008-12-10 4:12

Hello John,
Excellent macro of this beautiful bird, which very well appreciate all the details. Wonderful composition with the background blurred and wonderful light and colors.
Best regards,
Charo

Buin (37452) 2008-12-10 4:29

Hallo John!
What a sight - what a proud bird - in human categories...
A very seldom picture here on TrekEarth - but a really worth-seeing one nand a most impressive one. Thanks for showing and the excellent note!
Greetings from cold and humid Germany!
Frank

Cricri (43030) 2008-12-10 10:55

Hi John
Quel capture magnifique, un regard qui vous transperce et des détails parfait comme s'il était a côté de nous, superbe
Have a nice evening for you
cricri

bracasha75 (21977) 2008-12-10 11:01

Helo John
Like i have sayed this is one extrem good work and i,m sure that this is sharper than this Kestrel cane seen
TFS
Cheers,Braca

MP-Moller (580) 2008-12-10 11:16

Hello John,
Very sharp portrait with a vibrant yellow color. The Kestrel doesnt look 100% content :-) and it adds interest to the photo.
T F S
Mattias

toto (18697) 2008-12-11 12:08

Bonsoir,
belle photo de cet oiseau superbe a l' air perplexe, jolis maquillage autour de ces grands yeux ronds et de son bec, le jaune lui va bien au teint.
Beau portrait de cette Kestrel.

Amitiés Thomas

jhm (82233) 2008-12-12 3:41

Hi John,

I love this wonderful photograph, perhaps a picture for TN, but i find these here also very nice.
Thank you very much for your excellent note.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

pablominto (40456) 2008-12-13 0:38

Hello John,

This is a fine birdy portrait!
What I like is the silky-crisp feeling of the plumage, very well reproduced...
The composition is fine, the subject well isolated and the bird appears with a fine 3-D feeling!

greetings,
Pablo -

foozi (4689) 2008-12-13 6:19

Hi John,
a splendid shot of the creature. excellent clarity and superbs sharpness. the background is just great to enhance the beauty of the subject.

regards,
foozi

mvdisco (11466) 2008-12-13 15:56

Bonsoir John,
Wanderful portrait of this kestrel Hawk, well taken with very sharp picture, Excellent POV. and details,
very well done and lovely background,
Excellent NOTE..
compliments
Michel

gunbud (27779) 2008-12-13 18:03

Hi John,
Beautiful young raptor caught in all its magnificent details.
Love the yellow and blue beak ang the yellow ring over the glimmering eye.
Regards, Tom

jrj (34779) 2008-12-15 4:23

A fine capture of the bird John and you placed her a bit offcentered which is good also combined with the right use of dof as here.

danyy (68546) 2008-12-15 22:56

Bonjour John,
il y a de quoi s'alarmer sur la disparition de nos rapaces, leur nombre diminue alors qu'ils sont protégés, il y a encore de très nombreux efforts à faire et notamment, protéger aussi leurs sources de nourriture.
Un plan rapproché d'une extrème qualité dans la DOF, les couleurs, les lumièrs et le piqué.
Du grand art.
Best from Belgium.
Daniel.

Waylim (10741) 2008-12-15 23:38

John,
Wow, what a fantastic clarity and sharpness of this kestrel. You can almost see your reflection in its eyes. Beautiful soft but rich color background, really enhanced the sharpness and quality of the bird. Great details on the plumage, every pieces of feather is accounted for. Good composition as well. Congrats for such a fine shot and thanks for sharing.
Way

Nicou (44553) 2008-12-16 0:41

Hello,

quel captage, cet oiseua est fantastique, avec son bec jaune, son oeil, vifl, superbe compo,

Braov et amitié

Nicou

riclopes (32967) 2008-12-16 0:57

Most spectacular portrait, John. I remember it well in your site as one of the pictures that most captured my attention. The details are amazing and I also love the pose, the wing like a long shoulder supporting the whole body. Congrats for this gorgeous picture. The WS is a surprise - so many hawks together in the sky!
take care,
ricardo

feather (49858) 2008-12-16 7:10

An excellent wildlife portrait John. The all-important catch-light is in her eye and you have captured fantastic detail in the feathers. Very good choice of DOF so all background distraction is eliminated.
Kath

gracious (20017) 2008-12-16 9:41

Hello John,
Compliment for this fine and beautiful portrait of the Kestrel! I loved the side pose of it in great sharpness, awesome colour and superb details!
the clarity on the plummage is excellent!
well done
take care and sincere regards
tony

leo61 (43229) 2008-12-17 12:03

Hi John!
Great shot of this wonderful bird.Good sharpness and fine details to view at the feathers.Great contrast with the totally blurred background.
Regards,leo

Didi (36020) 2008-12-18 10:48

Hi John
That's great my friend.
Interesting selective setting on the bird.
A very sharp picture, you have a very good lens.
Greetings from Oréans the old.

jemaflor (39235) 2008-12-19 4:16

Hi John,
Very well taken, perfect focus and good bokeh, excellent sharpness, congratualations.

Silversnow (2107) 2008-12-23 9:14

The eyes are very crisp, and that's the most important part of a portrait ;)
Very interesting note (otherwise it would belong to TrekNature ;))

evanrizo (456) 2008-12-26 5:09

Hi John, I need to long time until to have the images open, the site is tooo slowly.
You captured a great beauty here, I love photos with birds.
Best wishes fir the new year.
Evangelos

Atousa (3434) 2008-12-27 4:46

Salam John,

A lovely portrait of this bird with great details n superb quality of the image..very good timing n I like its curious look ..TFS
Happy new year to you n your family, A

plimrn (19600) 2008-12-27 18:29

Hi John,
I really could not resist this beauty. The detail is stunning; you're right, she is NOT a happy girl. I found your discussion about the lens very informative. Thanks
HLJ, Pat

Angshu (33561) 2008-12-30 0:44

Hello John
Not a usual post from you....but what a fantastic one really! You took this with 400 mm yet the sharpness is amazing. Isolating the majestic bird from the blurred background, the details visible are excellent. Fantastic work!
Hope you had a fine Christmas!
Best Regards
Angshu

Bandit (2064) 2008-12-30 15:00

Bonjour John,
superbe portrait de ce rapace !! Les détails sont vraiment bons et la posture très original !! Superbe photo !!
Bravo !!
Fabien

giorgimer (21000) 2008-12-30 15:51

Hi John,

wonderful natural shot, perfect also for TN. Good details and positioning of the subject.

Well done!

Gio

SteveH (3885) 2008-12-30 16:32

Hi John, As a more than occaisional photographer of birds I couldn't go past this great capture. It has it all, beautiful colour, detail, sharpness and composition. Fine work. cheers, Steve

MLINES (10860) 2009-01-02 1:15

Hi John, An especially fine close up pof this good-looking kestrel. The eye and the surrounding yellow markings are superb. Good job. Murray.

cdmonson (2751) 2009-01-05 11:22

Hi John:

Nice one here, and quite a change from your typical landscape shots. I like the look this kestrel is giving you here--almost as if he wants to be left alone. Probably feels that way after being captured. :) Wonderful depth of field and colors.

Clark

Katherine- (252) 2009-01-15 22:11

Wow! What a tiny nice beautiful birdie!!! +)))
Good job!

Katherine

parbo (10968) 2009-01-16 17:32

Hello John,

I read your conversation about lens and the result is amazing as I saw also in your other posts. The clarity and sharpness is speechless with blurry background. Really a "cute kestrel" as Mr. Mesut Ilgim said. Extraordinary, congratulations. Have a nice weekend.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul
PS. Thank you very much for adding my name to your list of favorite photographers. I appreciated.

jwmunro (6571) 2009-06-29 14:56

Hello John -

I don't think there is anything I can add to this image other than, I am envious! Everything, and I mean everything is spot on. You should consider entering this image in a wildlife contest. It is a winner in my book.

Well done! (What an under statement)

Thank you for sharing.

John