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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 139 - Vivid >> Eligible > Red-tailed Awk
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08-AUG-2007 Michael Shealy

Red-tailed Awk

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
1/640s f/3.5 at 85.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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ctfchallenge12-Aug-2007 14:01
That pond has certainly been fertile territory for your photography. It provides a yellow-greenish bg to set off the red body of the bug. I almost never see these creatures so it's nice to have them here and elevated to 'Awk' status. -tv
Guest 11-Aug-2007 02:53
If that is a hawk than he must be carrying a fairly large tree in his talons :-)
That is a very cool looking critter. I love the white stripes...it looks like something you might see on a helicopter or race car.
ctfchallenge10-Aug-2007 14:08
Thanks for the kind words, guys. This colorful character not only is this orangy-red color but if you look closely, you'll see that the larger body section has white stripes, whew! Cool, eh? I do have a small pond on my property and there are usually a few of these Awks circling. I probably shouldn't let this out, but they are easy to shoot (if they're around). I sat and waited with the cam focused and set-up for the shot on the most prominent piece of grass hanging over the pond. These guys are much like (real) Awks in that they always want to take a "high" perch to watch for their prey, so just a bit of patience and bingo! Fortunately, he/she was one of the "vivid" ones ":^) Cheers, and thanks again, -mikey
ctfchallenge10-Aug-2007 05:19
Good stuff Michael. I don't see any of these around my house. You have a body of water close by? -COAmature
Guest 10-Aug-2007 02:16
This is gorgeous Mikey! That color is amazing.
Rod 09-Aug-2007 19:52
It's not too hard to get shots of these birds as they're so big, at least as big as The Great Oz Pelican billed Awk but wot is hard is finding the very rare red bellied,back & head Red tailed Awk. Amazing work Mikey well done mate:-)