Missed THE shot, but still happy.

[MN Shutterbug]

I broke my 2 week dry spell. A friend called me yesterday while I was at a show, and informed me there was a ton of Cedar Waxwings at this assisted living unit in town. I headed over there this morning and made a few attempts, but the lighting wasn't the greatest. I only got one that is OK. While watching, a saw a larger bird come flying thru and didn't think much about it, until it nailed a poor waxxie. If only I had recognized what was about to go down. A shot of the hawk catching the bird, would have been awesome. Oh well, there is always next time. In the hawk shot, you can see the little legs of the waxxie sticking up. Kinda cool!

[Steve Foss]

Nice ones, X-T. That hawk definitely looks happy with its lunch.

[Heartman]

Hey, that's a Goshawk. One of the main predators of our Ruffed Grouse. Great agility in the woods - you might call it an olympic-caliber feathered athlete!

Great pics - thanks for sharing!

[MN Shutterbug]

I think it's a Sharp Shinned. This hawk wasn't much larger than a robin.

[Steve Foss]

I thought sharp-shinned, too, or maybe a small Cooper's. I was comparing it to the size of the waxwing in its talons.

[finnbay]

Nicely done Mike! Right place at the right time!

[MN Shutterbug]

Nicely done Mike! Right place at the right time!

That's a very important factor.

[mmeyer]

That's a great shot Mike. I was thinking Coopers too but what do I know. Great capture!!

[Jim Almquist]

What a cool capture Mike and better then some old waxwing

[Steve Foss]

Hey Jim, you insensitive bugger, waxwings are people too!

[MN Shutterbug]

Mike, I would have probably thought Cooper's too, but I was there and saw the size. If it would have been the size of a Cooper's or Goshawk, I would have recognized right away what was happening. As it was, I just thought it was a robin or something, initially. Sharp-shins are only about 1 1/2" larger than a robin. I will be ready next time.

Jim, I couldn't agree more.

Mike, remember when you jokingly suggested telling a person that your pictures are taken with your camera phone, when they say "you must have a good camera"? Well, I did just that. I had a lady pick up a photo of mine and make that silly comment and I pulled out my phone and told her that all my photos were taken with my camera phone. She said, "this bird picture.... you can't make me believe that". I did have her for a few seconds. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. BTW, she didn't buy anything either.

[Dbl]

Nice capture Mike! Not often you see something like this, let alone with a camera in hand.

[MN Shutterbug]

Hey Jim, you insensitive bugger, waxwings are people too!

Hawks trump waxwings, any day.

[yakfisher]

That is a cool shot of the hawk, too bad you missed the smash and grab. Did you change something in your post processing? I'm seeing a lot less noise in your photos recently.

[Steve Foss]

yak, I think he's posting more quietly.

[MN Shutterbug]

Yak, if you noticed noise in my photos before, you should have mentioned it. I didn't know there was. I did mention a few weeks ago that I'm always open to C & C, as long as it's done gently. This hawk was shot at ISO 250, vs. the ISO 400 I typically shoot at.

[yakfisher]

All the noisy pictures had a frame on them. I think that was the change you made. These are nice and clean, I like them. I'll let you know if I see it again.