We see a lot of birds of prey out here. Some golden eagles (which are large and spectacular), some falcons, but mostly hawks of various kinds. They tend to be found sitting on telephone poles, surveying the landscape for movement. Sometimes we catch them dive-bombing a rabbit or squirrel in the sage on the hillside. Sometimes the prey is not so willing and the hawks get into a scuffle which causes them to lose a few feathers. The photos in the images below are from just such an occasion, from a goshawk, specifically – the dark spots would look like stripes when properly aligned together.

The photo on the left is a shot of the feathers just grouped together- you can really see how ‘furry’ they look up close. The photo on the right is a similar grouping, but the feathers are illuminated from behind – sounded like something fun to try.

I used two versions of hawk feather shots for things in my shop – the left image, as well as a shot of a single feather (also doubled up and crossed at the tips as another option.) You can get an idea of what these look like from these images of the blank journals:

Speaking of photography, my s.o., John, got a new camera yesterday as well – a 4 M.P. Fuji A340 that I’m sure he’ll be very happy with. I don’t know when and if he’ll be posting any photos anywhere, but I’ll let you know – heh. I’d given him my old camera, but the only thing a 1.3 M.P. camera might be good for anymore is… well… any ideas? *grin*