I visited the Ridgefield NWR today, Feb. 19, 2019, on a cloudy, showery day. It was a raptor day–eagles, hawks, harriers, and kestrels. For this shot I had waited about 15 minutes watching the immature bird at the top of a tree, probably about 120 yards away. I noticed the mature bird enter the area in a glide and got ready for some type of interaction between the two birds. But being in my vehicle, the mature bird was out of my view until it approached the top of the tree where the junior bird was perched. That’s when I hit burst. I’ve got some frames of the action leading up to this one and some of the action as they fell toward the ground. I’ll post some of those later. I do know both birds were separated and flying before they reached the ground but I think junior got the worst of it. He looked like a ball of feathers as he was falling.
Canon 5D Mark III, 1/1250, f4, ISO 2500, 500mm, 3:01 p.m.
