Geraint Smith Photography

Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

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Tag: Raptors

Great Horned Owl Fledglings

Geraint May 29, 2017 No Comments

Great Horned Owl fledgelings. On a private photography workshop this weekend we spent two days photographing raptors in southern Colorado. We discovered these two exquisite Great Horned Owl fledgelings on the second day which for us topped the previous day with the hawks and eagle altercation. This scene seemed a fitting moment and conclusion to a wonderful trip, that re-enforces the great continuum and absolute balance of nature.

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Swainson’s Hawks And Golden Eagle

Geraint May 28, 2017 No Comments

Yesterday’s Hawks and Golden Eagle.  These two Swainson’s hawks were defending their nest from imminent danger from the Golden Eagle. The altercation didn’t last very long, it amounted to about a dozen frames on the camera, until they chased the eagle off.

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Below are two more images from this day in Colorado.

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swainsons_hawks_golden_eagle_4345-1-3663863And you are out of here!

American Kestrel In Flight

Geraint April 8, 2017 No Comments

American Kestrel. What can I say about this spritely little fellow, seen here hunting prey of beetles, crickets, other sundry bugs and small rodents along the fence line on the Hondo Mesa, Taos NM. I am always happy to stop to watch and photograph these colorful hawks.

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Raptor Nest In The San Luis Valley, Colorado.

Geraint March 16, 2017 2 Comments

Raptor nest in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. Although this tree has fallen and the nest is close to the ground, from time to time, I come across images that remind me of what a great location this is. Over the many years that I’ve conducted photo tours in this area my guests really respond to it’s location, it’s serenity and vastness. Here is another view of the nest on a winters night when we made a trip there under the full moon.

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“It’s mine, I killed it and now I’m going to eat it!”

Geraint February 20, 2017 8 Comments

Merlin. “It’s mine, I killed it and now I’m going to eat it!”  I made this image yesterday on my way home from my gallery in Arroyo Seco. I spotted the raptor on the fence post as I drove along. I pulled over, reversed about 100 feet and wound down my window. I said to myself, ‘that’s a male Merlin falcon, perhaps a juvenile’. I stopped about 20 feet away and while I was changing lenses I observed the Merlin tear at a dead bird’s chest … at least I’m pretty sure it was dead. I made about a dozen images, each, very much like this one. A few minutes later when a pickup came whipping by me, scaring the Merlin, the raptor took off clenching it’s prey. This evening I wrote to my friend Jean-Luc Catron, author of Raptors of New Mexico to confirm my ID of the bird. This is his reply … “What a beautiful photo!! You are right, it is a merlin, and because of the muted facial markings I can also say that it belongs to the subspecies richardsonii (prairie or Richardson’s merlin). It is a male because of the blue gray dorsal plumage”.   Thank you Jean-Luc.  Thank you for looking. G

Merlin, Prairie or Richardson's Merlin, Falcon

Morning Hawk

Geraint January 8, 2017 1 Comment
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Morning Hawk, Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico. I drive through Arroyo Hondo in the mornings and nine times out of ten this hawk is present in an old cottonwood.  I pull over to watch and it seems to say “good morning” in it’s own inimitable way. It gets alert after a while of observation, perhaps a little antsy, raises it’s tail feathers, defecates to lighten the load and lifts off. The routine is constant, not just for this raptor, but also for the bald eagles and many other raptors I’ve photographed over the years. I thought you’d like to know that so when you are watching a hawk or eagle, you’ll know the moment it is about to lift of. That’s it. Thanks for looking.

Red-tailed Hawk, El Prado

Geraint December 30, 2016 No Comments
Hawk and Starlings
Driving past this scene in El Prado I spotted the potential for an image. I made a u-turn and found that I could line up the Red-tailed Hawk in front of the brighter cloud giving it the back lighting. The hawk has a penchant for Starlings. Timing is everything. Thanks for looking.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Geraint December 15, 2016 No Comments
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk on a cold and frosty morning, NM Highway 150. I was heading into my gallery in Arroyo Seco on my morning commute. I often spot hawks on fence posts, power poles, or in a dead tree as in this case. Power poles provide the hawk with a vantage point, it’s true, but there is something un-romantic about a ridged post with a transformer constantly humming and wires everywhere ruining the picture. Maybe, secretly, the raptor likes that sort of thing. Well… when I spotted this bird in all it’s pristine glory, bathed in morning sunlight, I had to pull over and make an image. Thanks for looking. G

Hawk Nest And Ute Mountain

Geraint November 28, 2016 2 Comments
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After numerous years, the tree and Swainson’s Hawk’s nest near Ute Mountain on the plateau has finally succumbed to the elements. The nest, were it not for the fact that it is now three feet above the ground and within reach of predators, would have lasted for many more generations of raptors. The structure of the nest is bound together with an armature of barbed and bailing wire. I expect to see the tree disintegrate around it while the nest remains a reminder of what once was.