Juvenile Peregrine Falcons Playing

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

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Talon lock

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The attempted getaway

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Mom gets the life scared out of her

Critique Style Requested: Standard

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Description

I decided to go to San Diego to shoot some of the Peregrine falcon nests. These are not the falcons that I normally shoot from San Pedro. I wanted a different perspective than I get from San Pedro so I decided to focus on two different nesting sites about 1 mile apart. When I arrived at 7 am it was very foggy. I couldn’t see more than 50 yards or so. This is quite typical during summer but the weather has been warm so it created a fog effect over the ocean and these peregrines all nest on the cliff faces along the beaches. The fog generally disappears within a mile of the coast as you move inland.
Well, the fog stuck around until about 11:30 and while I heard the juvis screaming to be fed I couldn’t see them. I walked down the beach toward the second nesting site and noticed that there are three little white fluffballs still in the nest. More on these guys in a later post.
I’m not sure if the parents can hunt when visibility is so poor and as luck would have it, as soon as the fog lifted we started to get all kinds of action at the first nesting site. While there was still a little bit of fog one of the juvis dove down where mom was sitting and scared her into an upside down talon jump which I thought was pretty dang funny.
There were food exchanges which I will share in a later post and lots of playing between the 3 juvis. This group has been flying for 8 days now so they are very adept at flight.

Specific Feedback

I’d like to know which of the Talon grabs do you like the best and why. This is one series of talon grabs and the light had improved enough to get blue skies and good direction light on both of them.

Technical Details

Z9, 800mm lens, f/6.3, ISO 2000, 2500th sec, hand held, manual exposure

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1 Like
3

My fave talon grab is the first one; they look like they’re passing the baton in a relay race. I do love the bottom shot as well, with the attractive ground beneath (maybe if you’re very patient remove the distant bushes so that Mom has more separation?). All the shots are beautifully sharp.

4

Great series David! The interaction is captured wonderfully. I really like all of them. Hard to pick a fave. What an experience this must have been to witness. Not nits from me.

5

I much prefer the second in the talon-grab series, David. The eye contact with one of the birds is a big plus and the way it’s tail is curved and general expression makes it look as if it’s a bit surprised which adds to the image in my opinion.

6

An excellent series, David. Fantastic action and detail. I like the fourth one, as my preference for flight shots is with a background other than plain sky.

7

Hi David
A great series of action photographs, I am going with the last frame. The colorful background and the Falcon’s talons pointing up, make this photo a winner. Nice work, alll the shot were great.
Peter

8

Thanks for your feedback and comments @Sandy_Richards-Brown, @Mike_Friel, @Allen_Sparks, @Dennis_Plank, @Allen_Brooks, @Peter_Morrissey. It sounds like the last image with mom and the juvie gets the nod from most of you. Thanks for that. I appreciate it very much!