I have been shooting birds for quite some time, and Sparrowhawks also on a yearly basis, however only once I was lucky enough to witness a pair mating. This was back in 2012, and since I had to dug up the series for a request, I decided to reprocess them. This is one one of them. I heard the female calling while taking a walk with my camera in the woods close by. Never been more happy to carry my camera 
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All comments welcome
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D700 with 500mm f4 | 1/500s | f4 | ISO2200 | underexposed 1/3EV | handheld
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Great capture. Both birds are sharp. I like the perch and background.
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Exceptionally well done. The mirroring stares from the hawks are impressive. The D 700 was a great camera. I believe it had 10 megapixels?
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Thanks @David_Schoen, I forgot but checked it, it had 12MP - was a great FX camera!
WOW! Exceptional opportunity, wonderful sharpness and detail, very interesting perch and a BG to die for!! 11/10.
Very well executed, Hans. It would be interesting if you could post the image the way you first processed it ten years ago.
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Alas, I cannot not @Dennis_Plank , as at that time I processed in Apple’s Aperture. When I switched to LR, I transferred only the raw files from certain periods, this was one of them. Judging from an old post on a forum, the processing was more or less the same except the noise reduction is better now…
Good thing you were carrying your camera Hans. What a great capture. And from 10 years ago. It sure holds up well. Nice to get both birds sharp and in a great pose with eyes visible on each of them. Great wing position of the male and a good look at the females talons. The perch is really nice and the background is gorgeous and fitting and nicely blurred out. A very tiny nit is the green leaves at the tips of both of the males wings. Other than that, this is pure magic.
