Australian Peregrine


Posted by David Salem on Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:30 pm

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This is from my fantastic trip to Australia last November.

I was going on a family vacation for my first time to Australia so I decided to get a hold of a past NS member from Sydney, Ofer Levy. I contacted him via email to see if might be able to direct me to some possible shooting locations.
He was very nice and gave me a few locations to go to look for parrots and shorebirds. He also mentioned that he had a peregrine eyrie that was active and the babies had fledged a few weeks earlier and that he might be able to meet me one evening and show me the spot. I was very exited to say the least as peregrines are my favorite birds, and Peregrinus Macropus is the most beautiful of all the subspecies. They are known for their dark cap and their beautiful horizontal pattern on their chest.
On the day we were supposed to meet Ofer called to tell me he couldn't make it due to some work stuff but in the same breath he said he had a friend that was going to meet me there and show me the spot. Awesome!! 
When I got to the location in the early afternoon it was quite breezy, actually it was howling!! I figured 25-40mph. His friend was upset and figured it might be too windy but I mentioned to him that in my life long dealings with peregrines, they love the wind and are usually quite active as the wind provides free energy in the form of lift. Harriers are the same way too. 
It was so windy that I had to remove the hood on my 600 because the wind was grabbing it and I couldn't even hold the lens in one spot. 
So we hiked along a beautiful cliff overlooking the gorgeous southern ocean to the eyrie spot. We were there for five minutes when the adult male made a close fly by. Wow!! He is stunning!!
A few minutes later and it was an all out arial dog fight with four peregrines flying in front of us for 3-4 hours. Two adults and their two young.  It was flipping crazy!!
I thought my arms were going to fall off and the lactic acid was pumping through my arms so much that I had to take breaks even though I didn't want to put my lens down. 
I shot 2500 frames in a few hours!! and got tons of great images. 
I even got them bringing in food to the young. His friend has been going there for years and he said he had never seen it so good!!  
It was actually a shoot of a lifetime and I really want to publicy thank Ofer for his generosity and willingness to help me out. I am truly indebted to him and can't thank him enough.
This is a shot I have been trying to get my whole life. 
A beautiful peregrine in a full tucked wing stoop, in great light, with a nice background and razor sharp. I estimate that she was doing close to 100mph as she went smoking by me and I only got two frames. Also notice the alula feather protruding out as they act as ailerons to control flight during high speed stoops. 
This is one of the babies and she doesn't have the horizontal stripes on her chest until next year but she sure has a beautiful dark cap.
Sorry for the long read but I thought some of you might like to hear the story of the capture :) 

D5---850mm---f5.6---ss1/3200th---ISO640---Hand held@4:15pm---30% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input.  I appreciate it.

David

Please click on the image to view the larger more detailed file. Thanks 
    
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by Swissblad on Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:02 pm
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Stunning image, David!
Thanks for the long read!
 

by Carol Clarke on Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:04 pm
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David, you must know by now that I am a great admirer of your work, and I also love raptors. Ofer is also a great talent with his photography. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your account of this memorable day, and if that was me, my heart would probably have missed enough beats to start a symphony.

Thank you for sharing this amazing story and for posting this beautiful young lady for our enjoyment.

Amazing!

Carol.
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the world will know peace"....Jimi Hendrix.

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by Ron Day on Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:20 pm
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David, a wonderful story and a fantastic flight shot. Congratulations on finally getting your shot and on such a fine image.
 

by Dan Kearl on Tue Jul 02, 2019 3:38 pm
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Excellent Dave... speeding bullitt...
 

by David Salem on Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:53 pm
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Carol Clarke wrote:David, you must know by now that I am a great admirer of your work, and I also love raptors.  Ofer is also a great talent with his photography.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your account of this memorable day, and if that was me, my heart would probably have missed enough beats to start a symphony.

Thank you for sharing this amazing story and for posting this beautiful young lady for our enjoyment.

Amazing!

Carol.
Thanks so much Carol!! 
I greatly appreciate the nice comment!!  
I know you are a lover of raptors like me so I am especially glad you like this one, and the long story too :)
Thanks again
COME JOIN ME FOR A CUSTOM PERSONALIZED RAPTOR WORKSHOP   NOV-MAR 2019/2020.    PLEASE PM ME TO ENQUIRE ABOUT PRICING AND AVAILABILITY! 
 

by David Salem on Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:55 pm
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Thanks Guys!! I appreciate the nice comments too.
COME JOIN ME FOR A CUSTOM PERSONALIZED RAPTOR WORKSHOP   NOV-MAR 2019/2020.    PLEASE PM ME TO ENQUIRE ABOUT PRICING AND AVAILABILITY! 
 

by sirianul on Tue Jul 02, 2019 8:15 pm
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I have a good friend birdwatcher and photographer in Australia and you David convinced me what my next trip will be. Beautiful picture of this beautiful bird.

Peter Tamas (sirianul)
 

by clement on Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:14 pm
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Goodness me Dave.. you have captured the essence of a diving Peregrine so wonderfully.. Top shot this.. and the story behind.. wish I was there too :-) and I know Ofer is one amazingly talented guy and we love his pictures. 
 

by david fletcher on Wed Jul 03, 2019 11:39 am
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Carol Clarke wrote:David, you must know by now that I am a great admirer of your work, and I also love raptors.  Ofer is also a great talent with his photography.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your account of this memorable day, and if that was me, my heart would probably have missed enough beats to start a symphony.

Thank you for sharing this amazing story and for posting this beautiful young lady for our enjoyment.

Amazing!

Carol.

second those thoughts.  stunning... 
Make your life spectacular!

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by Axel Hildebrandt on Wed Jul 03, 2019 3:04 pm
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Cool capture and I look forward to seeing more of the series, sounds like a wonderful experience.
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by Karl Egressy on Wed Jul 03, 2019 4:44 pm
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Amazing shot and a nice story, David.
 

by Isaac Grant on Thu Jul 04, 2019 12:43 am
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Simply does not get better than this. Just perfect in every way and this so beautifully portrays the power and grace of these amazing birds. A shot for the rest of us to aspire to.
 

by Debapratim Saha on Thu Jul 04, 2019 12:28 pm
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killer stuff as always Dave!
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by David Salem on Thu Jul 04, 2019 12:32 pm
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Thanks again everyone and happy 4th for you in the States!!
COME JOIN ME FOR A CUSTOM PERSONALIZED RAPTOR WORKSHOP   NOV-MAR 2019/2020.    PLEASE PM ME TO ENQUIRE ABOUT PRICING AND AVAILABILITY! 
 

by Paul Rossi on Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:49 pm
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What a capture. Beautiful work and story.
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