Sunday 23 May 2010

Macro Monday: Look Into My Eyes........


Last Monday slipped by under a mountain of boxes and in a haze of drywall dust. Yes, we have finally moved - 155 boxes in total, 36 so far unpacked. The rest are happily ensconced in the garage, waiting for their contents to be rediscovered once the renovations are complete. We are now living upstairs, sans kitchen or washing machine, and we have been reduced to washing everything in the shower. Still, as everyone keeps telling me - it will be worth it when it is all finished. But when will that be? I stubbed my toe on a dinner plate in the shower yesterday morning..........

Still, life goes on, and so I am back with a Macro Monday post. These photos were taken this morning at half past stupidly-early o'clock. Why can't birds have a lie-in on Sunday like the rest of us? And don't they know that it is a long weekend here in Beautiful British Columbia? Oh well, he is gorgeous isn't he, so I suppose it was worth getting up ridiculously early for.


He is a sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), so called due to his pencil thin legs. I know that it is a he since he is very small  - females can be nearly twice the weight of males - (and because Derek the Master Bander told me so). These hawks show the greatest disparity in the size of males and females of any American hawk.  Male or female, these are not large hawks, being no bigger than your average jay or dove. If you look into his gorgeous bright eyes, you will immediately know that he is only in his second year, since adult birds have blood red eyes.





For more Macro Monday, go here.
For more Faces of the Week, go here.

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Perfect shot!

Dimple said...

He is very handsome! It was definitely worth rising early to get his portrait!

Colleen said...

Wow! It's amazing to look into his eyes like that. Good luck on the renovation.

Jama said...

That's a scary-looking eyes, I won't be looking into it, I won't even go near it!

Christina, Sweden said...

Great shots that show their eyes perfectly. When seen so close I can understand the sharpness in them even better

Christina, sweden said...

forgot my link.....

Kala said...

Fabulous details; he posed wonderfully for the camera!

Baino said...

Ah interesting about the eyes. We have White Winged Chuffs (not hawks) but I often wondered by some have black eyes and others are red. Perhaps the same thing happens as they mature.

Jayne said...

What great shots!

Alissa said...

Wow! Those eyes are so yellow. AWESOME photography.
From Alissa@Craftalicious-Caper

Hootin Anni said...

These photos take my breath away!!

GLASS EYE - my link if you'd like to view my macro this week.

Daniela said...

Amazing shots of that bird, the eyes are stunning :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, he IS GORGEOUS! Very beautiful shots!
Hope the renovation goes smoothly!

A 2 Z said...

Very intense yellow eyes! I hope your moving goes well. I'm in the middle of painting the whole house in Montreal. I think half of Canada is doing something similar during this long weekend. I used to live in Victoria, BC. I would sell one of my children to be able to go back LOL

Thanks for sharing

Anne-Marie

"Lillagul" said...

Certainly worth getting up ridiculously early to get this great pictures on the beutiful bird !

Kim, USA said...

Perfect shot and for sure I won't bug you ^_^ Happy Monday!

Macro Monday~Grapes

Sistertex said...

This one was the 'early bird' and I'm thinking he must have gotten his worm. ;)

This is *such* a beautiful shot. I really, really love it. Wow. What a wonderful bird, yep, totally worth getting up for.

Sounds like you have really had your hands full there. Moving is always such a task. I have done it quite a few times in my life. Now we have been in the house we are in for 20 years (we built this house) and I can't even imagine how in the world we'd pack it all in and shift camps, it would truly be quite the undertaking. I hope you are all comfortable and get all settled in soon. It is true, you find *so* many things when you move. It is just amazing the things you didn't even know you had. Thanks so much for participating in 'Face of the Week' this week. Truly a magnificent face, I love it. Have a great week!

Carol said...

Great photos! I can tell you if those eyes were glowing at me in the dark, I'd be going the other way!

K(Banterings of a Basketcase) said...

all I can say is "Wow"!

Jess said...

Amazing eyes, and your focus on them with that depth of field is just perfect. Beautiful shots!

Stubbing your toe on a dish in the shower!? Sounds like something that would happen at our house although we're not in the process of moving! LOL!

Kerry said...

Superb close ups!

jabblog said...

Stunning photos! He is a tiny hawk, though, isn't he? I'd love to see the blood-red eyes of an adult - quite amazing.
(I'm glad your move has been relatively painlessly accomplished. Keep smiling :-})

Unknown said...

PS, to answer your question, I used a Tamron 60mm Macro for the fly shot.

Michael said...

Beautiful bird.

Anya said...

Wow!!
Wow!!
Wow!!
Those eyes are FANTASTIC :-)
Really cool shots ....