Juvenile Caracara in Flight
Hope that everyone had a great Christmas yesterday. Didn’t feel like that time of year in the Houston area with mid 70’s deg F temperatures and very humid. Looking forward to some cold weather in January.
Here are some more Caracara shots from my last trip to Santa Clara ranch. They were taken at the raptor blind as the birds were coming in to perch.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on trip with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm 
Caracara Head Tilt
It’s always very cool to see how far Caracaras can bend their head back. There are times that it’s a challenge to move my head side to side, let alone try this one. Very flexible raptor.
Used negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing out the whites in his neck.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
Green Jay vs. Bee
This Green Jay was distracted by a bee doing a fly-by, which made for an interesting photo.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation, 500mm
More Harris Hawks
Here are a few more Harris Hawk photos from last weekend.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400 II lens or Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/6400 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/4000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 400mm
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Harris Hawk Landing
Made another trip to Santa Clara Ranch in south Texas over the weekend. Had a great time, as always. Thanks Hector. Finally got to experience the raptor blind and it was awesome. With a somewhat slow start, the action picked up with Scott and I maxing out with 10 raptors at the same time with a couple of Harris Hawks and the rest being Caracara.
Started out using my 100-400 lens and later switched to the 500. Got several decent flight shots and wing spread photos when they came in to land. This juvenile Harris Hawk put on a good show.
I’d go back just for the raptors. Hope to make another trip next year.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 100-400mm II lens, mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 400mm
White Tipped Dove
White tipped doves don’t really show how colorful they really are until they extend their wings. Very beautiful birds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F 6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F 6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering, 500mm
Drinking Roadrunner
The roadrunners were the highlight of my last trip to Santa Clara Ranch in south Texas in June. On the last day, they were very cooperative and came to the pond to drink. Up close, they are very beautiful birds.
On the last photo, you can see the reflection of the pond in the water drop. They scoup up the water in their bill and tilt their head back to drink.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head in a photo blind
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, 500mm
Bronzed Cowbird
One of my favorite birds from my last trip to Santa Clara Ranch was the Bronzed Cowbird. They have a bronzed iridescence and their eyes turn red during breeding season. When trying to impress a potential mate, the male will vibrate his wings and hover in the air a few feet off of the ground. Got lucky on the last day and caught that behavior with the last two photos.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II on Wimberley II gimbal head mounted on a tripod
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Pyrrhuloxia
Had to look up the spelling on this bird. Related to the Northern Cardinal, the Pyrrhuloxia thrives in the desert southwest. They were very skittish and didn’t stick around long so I was very pleased to get these shots, especially the wingspan shot of the female.
Took these photos at Santa Clara Ranch in SW Texas in June.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on a tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a photography blind
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F5.0, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F6.3, ISO 1600, spot metering
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F6.3, ISO 3200, evaluative metering
Roadrunner Stare-Down
He must have been wondering where the machine gun fire was coming from nearby.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with Wimberley II gimbal head on a tripod.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Roadrunner Close-up
During my recent trip to Santa Clara Ranch, our goal was to see bobcats that have been frequenting the ponds lately. The ponds in front of the blinds are the only water source on the ranch so they attract lots of wildlife, especially during the hot summer months.
It was looking very promising for us with the previous visitors seeing bobcats at multiple blinds. Our hopes were dashed when it rained on both days. With water available elsewhere on the ranch, the cats didn’t show up. Bummer…
However, we did hit the jackpot on roadrunners. Our guide, Hector Astorga, is an expert at getting roadrunners to come into the blind area. He was calling one with his voice and it tried to come down the stairs into the blind.
This Greater Roadrunner eventually made his way to the pond and started drinking. He was too close for full body shots at the pond so I kept my focus on his eye for head shots. They are beautiful birds that are very colorful and look a little prehistoric, in my opinion.
More photos to follow with direct eye contact and drinking out of the pond.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head from a sunken blind
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, 500mm
Bobwhite Quail
Bobwhite Quail are beautiful birds with very distinct feather patterns. Males have a bold black and white head pattern with the females having buff colored heads. They are very fast and can be hard to track with a camera as they run around.
Had mostly cloudy skies on this trip and had crank up the ISO and break out my flash for some of these shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/320 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, fill flash with better beamer (-3 stops)
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Roadrunner from Santa Clara Ranch
Made another trip to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, this time to the Santa Clara Ranch. Had a great time, thanks again Scott for the invitation. This property has a ranch house that you can stay at and get meal service, which was a highlight of the trip with some of the best Mexican food that I’ve eaten. I wanted to bring the cook home with me. Hector, the ranch manager, was our guide and did a great job.
This Roadrunner surprised us as we were in the blind taking photos of other birds when he came up to the water. He walked away then came back to give us a good opportunity for some close-up shots. Ended up with over 8000 photos and still haven’t gone through them all yet.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Aperture priority, 1/5000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 500mm
Tim Timmis Photography 