American lifer #566 from Minnesota..All told I am at 571 now after the visit to Texas and Sax-Zim bog, but none has more character then the northern hawk owl. feisty, fierce, fast, fabulous.
I have taken more then 2000 frames of this accommodating bird that spend many hours next to the green house on CR7. We saw it preen, hunt, devour rodents, and just pose like a pro. here are shots taken at sunrise with the rising sun in the frame, for dramatic effect. lots of post processing to even the exposure and recover detail. repressed from NEF with Lr and topaz sharpen AI on april 5th 2024

Tags:   Nature Z9 Raphael Kopan Photography 600 f4E VR 1.4xTCIII Wildlife Nikon Duluth Sax-Zim Bog Minnesota sunrise

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American lifer #566 from Minnesota..All told I am at 571 now after the visit to Texas and Sax-Zim bog, but none has more character then the northern hawk owl. feisty, fierce, fast, fabulous.
I have taken more then 2000 frames of this accommodating bird that spend many hours next to the green house on CR7. We saw it preen, hunt, devour rodents, and just pose like a pro. here are shots taken at sunrise with the rising sun in the frame, for dramatic effect. lots of post processing to even the exposure and recover detail.

Tags:   Nature Z9 Raphael Kopan Photography 600 f4E VR 1.4xTCIII Wildlife Nikon Duluth Sax-Zim Bog Minnesota sunrise

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another pair o takeoff images later im the day

Tags:   Nature Z9 Raphael Kopan Photography 600 f4E VR Wildlife Nikon 1.4xTCIII Duluth Sax Zim Bog Minnesota northern Hawk Owl

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another pair of takeoff images later in the day. From Cornell:

A bird of boreal forests, the Northern Hawk Owl behaves like a hawk but looks like an owl. Its oval body, yellow eyes, and round face enclosed by dark parentheses are distinctly owl. Its long tail and habit of perching atop solitary trees and hunting by daylight, though, are reminiscent of a hawk. It is a solitary bird that tends to stick to the boreal forest, but some winters it moves south into the northern United States, delighting birders near and far.
cool facts:
•The Northern Hawk Owl can detect prey by sight up to half a mile away.
•Northern Hawk Owls are thought to detect prey primarily by sight. Along with their tendency to hunt in the daytime, their symmetrical ear openings are cited as evidence for daytime hunting—their ears presumably have less acute hearing than the asymmetrical ear openings of species such as Boreal and Great Gray Owls. Even so, hawk owls can still find prey by sound, even when it is under a foot of snow.

Tags:   Nature Z9 Raphael Kopan Photography 600 f4E VR Wildlife Nikon 1.4xTCIII Duluth Sax Zim Bog Minnesota northern Hawk Owl

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view large-hit "L" then "Z" twice

Tags:   1.4xTCIII 600 f4E VR Duluth Minnesota Nature Nikon Raphael Kopan Photography Sax Zim Bog Wildlife Z9

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