<< Previous Next >>

Ferruginous Buzzard


Ferruginous Buzzard
Photo Information
Copyright: Jax Westmoreland (Jax) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 77 W: 0 N: 150] (500)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-08-15
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 300D, Canon 100-300mm, Skylight
Exposure: f/8, 1/500 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Predaceous birds - Aves predadoras [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-08-19 15:57
Viewed: 8042
Favorites: 3 [view]
Points: 47
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Ok just one more then I'll take the camera somewhere else!
Ferruginous refers to the reddish colour of the wing & leg feathers, from the Latin word for rust - ferrugo. The Latin name, Buteo regalis, means "regal (or royal) hawk".

The Ferruginous Buzzard is native to North America, mainly on the western side.
Length 56-69cm
Wingspan 135-150cm
Weight 960-2070g
The size difference between males & females is much less than most other raptors.
Breeding from 2 years (lifespan 20. Habitats are open areas, such as grasslands, shrublands & deserts or the outer edges of forests. They occasionally roost in groups. Trees are the preferred nesting sites, but this is not always possible & nests are made on rocky ledges or hillsides. Where ground nesting sites are used, the young are particularly at risk from coyotes & foxes. The same nests are often used each year, being added to until they are of similar size to a Golden Eagles nest. 3 or 4 eggs are laid, with two days between each, the incubation period is between 28-32 days & both parents take turns in incubating. The young are fully fledged from around 38 - 50 days after hatching & will stay with the parents for up to a further 6 weeks. Young males often leave the nest earlier than females (but still bring their washing home to mum)
Prey is mainly rodents such as rabbits, gophers, prairie dogs & ground squirrels. They will also take small birds, snakes, lizards & sometimes insects, such as locusts & grasshoppers (often taken in flight). Hunting takes place throughout the day, though it is normally concentrated in the cooler periods of the early morning & late afternoon, when their main prey is more active. Apart from attacking the prey from flight, they often standing waiting at the entrance to the burrow of the prey (e.g. prairie dogs) & wait for the prey to come out. In strong winds, they have been observed hovering in order to find their prey. As well as communal roosting, they will sometimes hunt in pairs or as a part of a group.

For their body size, Ferruginous Buzzards have relatively small (bright yellow) feet, which limits the size of prey that they can catch. They also have a very large (bright yellow) mouth which it can open wide enabling it to quickly swallow large prey whole. The combination of these two features makes the bird not particularly useful as a hunting bird in falconry, as they can only catch relatively small prey which they can swallow very quickly, before the falconer has time to retrieve it..

This bird was rescued by the centre when it was removed from its previous owner by DEFRA due to licence violations, it is now being well cared for by the centre.

Cropped and resized. Sharpened and brightned +7. Again the grass has blurred nicely to a decent background.
RAP, PDP, gerhardt, AndyB, urban, Robbrown, wilkinsonsg, ellis49, japie, TAZ, letr, Callie, petertee, danbachmann, Fespo, coasties, Tamrock has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Callie: The birdieJax 1 08-25 16:45
To urban: The BackgroundJax 1 08-19 16:54
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

Jax, this is WOW with capitals. very beautiful shot with excellent sharpness and detail. A little overexposure in the whites but a very beautiful shot.
greetings, Jan

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2004-08-19 16:02]
  • [2]

That is one hell of a portrait, those eyes are so predatory. Jax, it is a magnificent shot and I think you should be very proud. Exceptional and I don't even like birds! Well done.

  • Great 
  • RAP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2524 W: 345 N: 2373] (7405)
  • [2004-08-19 16:05]
  • [2]

Wow... excelente perfil Jax.
Gran nitidez, gran recorte y encuadre.
Bellos colores y perfecto fondo (es realmente de hierba?).
Notas muy completas.
Muy bien hecho!

Wow... excellent outline Jax.
Great clearness, great crop and frame.
Beautiful colors and perfect bottom (it is really of grass?).
Very complete notes.
Very well done!

  • Great 
  • Pedda Silver Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 41 W: 1 N: 247] (1287)
  • [2004-08-19 16:15]
  • [2]

That was one hell of a sharp picture. Beautiful picture. I really like the eye.

Brilliant stuff. Even sharper than the previous one. Congratulations is in order. It is so life like.

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1366 W: 32 N: 1351] (3982)
  • [2004-08-19 16:35]
  • [2]

A beautiful portrait of this fine bird.
Excellent detail,especially the eye.
Excellent work and a great note too.

  • Great 
  • urban Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 71 W: 4 N: 79] (413)
  • [2004-08-19 16:48]
  • [2] [+]

Another great picture of a predatory bird. It is incredibly sharp. I think you should take more bird pictures because I can take a lot of those before getting bored :-).

What is the green background? It is so homogeneous in color.

A very upclose and personal shot Jax nice one.

Great image and very infomative notes :)

Great shot Jax
Very sharp with good details and nice colors.
Good note

This is a beautiful, tight crop on a very impressive looking bird. No matter how many times I see shots like this, I can't help but be impressed.

apik tenan manuke...

  • Great 
  • japie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
  • [2004-08-20 2:56]

You can leave the camera pointing at these birds! This is a stunningly clear shot with excellent DOF and Color. Thanks for sharing.

parfait, netteté, couleur et lumière au top! bravo

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2004-08-20 12:05]

Wow ! Wonderfull picture ! Everything is good !

  • Great 
  • letr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 87 W: 50 N: 47] (130)
  • [2004-08-20 12:24]

Crisp and clear picture !! just Excellent details and great colors ..Suberb Jax !!

  • Great 
  • Jeppe Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 36 W: 0 N: 33] (193)
  • [2004-08-20 17:03]

Wow - wonderful details - what a pose and what a note (I can see what your mean ;-) thanks for sharing this fine work - a favorite.

What a handsome creature..but what a pity !..he looks angry.A very cool shot..its so sharp and the DOF is great.the eyes is so sharp you can almost see the white spot.A very lovely shot.It will very nice if you can take the whole buzzard(maybe i am asking too mucu :P)Thanks for sharing it with us

Hi Jax
I seem to always see your pictures the last. This is one impressive eye, cere, bill and mustachinal stripes! Nice note too. I will try a WS, just to test my gut feel. Hope you dont mind.

  • Good 
  • Bac Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 93 W: 3 N: 33] (486)
  • [2004-09-04 9:12]

Magnifique, dommage pour ce cadrage trop serré.

  • Great 
  • Fespo (74)
  • [2005-01-29 18:52]

Outra magnífica fotografia. Nem sei o que comentar... Um trabalho de mestre!

Maravilhosa. Parabéns!

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1538 W: 5 N: 2240] (12636)
  • [2005-05-04 7:25]

Une très belle présentation de ce rapace.

Félicitations pour la lumière dans ce regard perçant.

A fine image Jax, I really like images like this and you got this one spot on. Great light and so sharp. By TN standards worth heaps more than the 41 points I find it with. Well done, Rob

Hi Jax

This is stunning. Love the colours. Very nicely composed. Good catchlight in the eye. Awesome green OOF BG. Very nice camera work. :-)

hi jax!
real fine portrait on this very
beautiful bird
sharp with great pov and dof
fine composition
well done!

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF