Close view of Sparrowhawk (male), Dumfries, Scotland

Red Squirrel Reflection Pool hide (Nature Photography Hides), Ringford, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland (January 2014)
This photo was taken at sunrise which was at 8:05 am. Guided by Alan McFadyen, photographers enter the hide at about 7.30 am while it is still dark. The Reflection Pool Hide is a 2-person hide situated next to but set back from the 3-person Sparrowhawk hide. The Sparrowhawk perches can be viewed from the Reflection Pool hide but the pool cannot be seen from the Sparrowhawk hide. Here, the male Sparrowhawk arrived first thing and perched briefly beside the end of the pool at a distance of about 6 metres. During the 3-day 'Winter Special', this was the only sighting of the male bird which was soon apparently chased off by a female. Photographers rotated between the three hides - Reflection Pool, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard. The 2-person Buzzard hide is about a 15-minute walk uphill from the other two hides.
For more information on this bird species see the following links:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk / Internet Bird Collection
Eurasian Sparrowhawk / Bird Forum
BirdLife International / Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/30
Av(Aperture Value) 3.2
Exposure Compensation +2/3
ISO Speed 25600
The Photoshop plug-in from Neat Image was used to reduce the noise in this image resulting from the very high ISO.
This photo was taken at sunrise which was at 8:05 am. Guided by Alan McFadyen, photographers enter the hide at about 7.30 am while it is still dark. The Reflection Pool Hide is a 2-person hide situated next to but set back from the 3-person Sparrowhawk hide. The Sparrowhawk perches can be viewed from the Reflection Pool hide but the pool cannot be seen from the Sparrowhawk hide. Here, the male Sparrowhawk arrived first thing and perched briefly beside the end of the pool at a distance of about 6 metres. During the 3-day 'Winter Special', this was the only sighting of the male bird which was soon apparently chased off by a female. Photographers rotated between the three hides - Reflection Pool, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard. The 2-person Buzzard hide is about a 15-minute walk uphill from the other two hides.
For more information on this bird species see the following links:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk / Internet Bird Collection
Eurasian Sparrowhawk / Bird Forum
BirdLife International / Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/30
Av(Aperture Value) 3.2
Exposure Compensation +2/3
ISO Speed 25600
The Photoshop plug-in from Neat Image was used to reduce the noise in this image resulting from the very high ISO.
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