Fraptorday: Weekly Raptor

OK, I know that of late I’ve been remiss. The cross-country caravaning, the shifting of all our belongings into, out of, and into temporary housing, and this hideous virus I’ve got now have gotten in the way. But I am going to break the dry spell now.

A red-tailed hawk in flight. This one crossed over the field where we happened to be out, and leisurely came by pretty close to where I was standing.

Here is a falcon at the California Hawking Club Sky Trials this year as it happened to fly by the moon in the sky.

Both are with the Nikon D2Xs and Nikkor 70-200mm VR lens. The second one was just a bit slow on the shutter speed, which smears the moving falcon slightly. I had real high hopes for that pic; it is OK rather than stunning, though. I need to consult an almanac before sky trials to figure out moonset, I guess, and hope to set it up again where I remember to run up the shutter speed.