Post by Jun Gregorio on Sept 14, 2008 17:27:39 GMT
For some reason Janis Joplin's song Oh Lord Won't You Give Me a Mercedes-Benz comes to mind while I was taking my shots. But instead of a car I'd settle for a fine long range glass. ;D ;D ;D
For you ladies & gents have the Candaba playground. Out here I have the George Reifel sanctuary to count on. Apparently in the old days Mr. Reifel used to own half of the downtown Vancouver. I live an hour away but it's always worth it coming here.
There is one closer where I live. A ten minute drive but I haven't been seeing too many birds there. Mostly Herons, crows, waxwings, jays. Apparently the farms in the area is leaching into the marshes. And making the area less desirable for the birds. So I always find myself returning to Reifel sanctuary.
Now I know why the military called one of their jets Harriers. While watching these birds, I was amazed how little wind they need to stay afloat without flapping their wings....and so quiet. The jet does resemble how these birds hover, do their turns on the spot, then attack their prey.
It was a great day for me. And scenes like this makes me wish I had a longer reaching tele-zoom.
I thought this was a Red-tailed Hawk because they are numerous in my area. But the white band on the tail convinced me that this is a Northern Harrier.
Anyways here is a blurb from the net:
The Northern Harrier (called the Hen Harrier in Europe and Asia) is a slender, white-rumped, medium-sized, and low-flying raptor of upland grasslands and fresh- and saltwater marshes... The Northern Harrier breeds throughout North America and Eurasia.
Like most other harriers, the Northern Harrier nests on the ground, usually in tall, dense clumps of vegetation, either alone or in loose colonies. Most males are monogamous or simultaneously bigamous, although some males pair with up to five mates in a season. In North America, the frequency of polygyny is influenced more strongly by the abundance of food in spring than by a female-biased sex ratio. Females incubate eggs and brood offspring, and males provide the bulk of food for their mates and nestlings.
This raptor forages on the wing, capturing a wide range of prey, mainly small- and medium-sized mammals and birds, while coursing low and buoyantly over the ground. Unlike other hawks, it frequently relies heavily on auditory cues, as well as visual ones, to capture prey. Annual breeding numbers and productivity are strongly influenced by the availability of the species’ principal prey in spring, usually microtine voles. In winter, individuals roost communally on the ground.
bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/210/articles/introduction
LOCATION:
George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary
Ladner, British Columbia
Excuse the low-res and noise. It's as best as my little 200mm can do.
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 266mm, 1/2000 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/2000 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
For you ladies & gents have the Candaba playground. Out here I have the George Reifel sanctuary to count on. Apparently in the old days Mr. Reifel used to own half of the downtown Vancouver. I live an hour away but it's always worth it coming here.
There is one closer where I live. A ten minute drive but I haven't been seeing too many birds there. Mostly Herons, crows, waxwings, jays. Apparently the farms in the area is leaching into the marshes. And making the area less desirable for the birds. So I always find myself returning to Reifel sanctuary.
Now I know why the military called one of their jets Harriers. While watching these birds, I was amazed how little wind they need to stay afloat without flapping their wings....and so quiet. The jet does resemble how these birds hover, do their turns on the spot, then attack their prey.
It was a great day for me. And scenes like this makes me wish I had a longer reaching tele-zoom.
I thought this was a Red-tailed Hawk because they are numerous in my area. But the white band on the tail convinced me that this is a Northern Harrier.
Anyways here is a blurb from the net:
The Northern Harrier (called the Hen Harrier in Europe and Asia) is a slender, white-rumped, medium-sized, and low-flying raptor of upland grasslands and fresh- and saltwater marshes... The Northern Harrier breeds throughout North America and Eurasia.
Like most other harriers, the Northern Harrier nests on the ground, usually in tall, dense clumps of vegetation, either alone or in loose colonies. Most males are monogamous or simultaneously bigamous, although some males pair with up to five mates in a season. In North America, the frequency of polygyny is influenced more strongly by the abundance of food in spring than by a female-biased sex ratio. Females incubate eggs and brood offspring, and males provide the bulk of food for their mates and nestlings.
This raptor forages on the wing, capturing a wide range of prey, mainly small- and medium-sized mammals and birds, while coursing low and buoyantly over the ground. Unlike other hawks, it frequently relies heavily on auditory cues, as well as visual ones, to capture prey. Annual breeding numbers and productivity are strongly influenced by the availability of the species’ principal prey in spring, usually microtine voles. In winter, individuals roost communally on the ground.
bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/210/articles/introduction
LOCATION:
George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary
Ladner, British Columbia
Excuse the low-res and noise. It's as best as my little 200mm can do.
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 266mm, 1/2000 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/2000 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat:
40D | EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM + TC 1.4x| 280mm, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400 | Sports | JPG | handheld, IS=enabled | Cropped, Brightness & Contrast, Hue/Sat: