Sheila Braden Memorial Photography COntest Results 2022

By Steve Hallmark

This past July, I had the privilege to observe this Coopers hawk from its nest to its first fully fledged flights, photographing his journey along the way.

In this image, the subject is higher in the sky than it seems. In order to get a sense of the place, I blended two images to include the mountains in the background, changing the perspective to make it appear that it was flying directly in front of the observer.

This photo was taken with a Nikon Z7II with a Nikon 200-500mm zoom lens, at 500mm. Exposure settings are f/8 at 1/1500 sec. ISO 450. text goes here

By Kerry Perkins

One of our most common wetland and shore birds is the Black-Crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax).

A unique aspect of the life history of this bird is that the juvenile (as shown) looks completely different from the adult, which is a slate grey and buff color.

These birds will eat just about anything and will accept other species into their nest to brood. This juvenile was spotted preening on a low branch over the pond at King Gillette Ranch.

Canon R5 RF100-500 mm + 1.4x at 700mm ISO 800 f/10 at 1/1600 sec, handheld

By Paul Abravaya

While walking the Nature Trail that winds through the riparian forest above the creek at the Thousand Oaks Botanic Garden, I saw the Hawk. From a distance I thought it was an Owl sitting on a branch of an oak tree, it was early in the morning and the trees provided shade that made visibility difficult. I approached slowly and recognized that it was indeed a Red-shouldered Hawk, and not an owl as I had first thought.

I was able to get directly across from the hawk and raised my camera. As I did so, the hawk looked directly into my eyes, and I took the picture of this beautiful bird.

Equipment: Camera Canon R5, Lens Canon 100-500 lens Taken at 500mm, 1/250 sec, F7.1, iso 12,800 July 24, 2022, 7:18am