Wild Birds of Prey in Flight

This red kite image caught my eye early on in my judging and made the top ten as it a difficult bird of prey to capture in a composition that is appealing to the eye and to portrays behaviour of these scavenging birds of prey who feed mainly on carrion The image has just enough sharpness in the right places such as the eye and beak and the background makes the subject pop out the frame I also like the grass in the talons as this is a typical of the red kite as it swoops down to gather food it collects grass and twigs in the process. Thanks for entering this image and congratulations on a top ten placing.

A lovely shot of a Scottish white tailed eagle with a mackerel as prey this image is crisp and delivers a true sense of the majestic presence of these amazing eagles the depth of field is just right and the subject sharp as tack. Composition screams power and beauty and the feather texture is very nicely detailed. Most probably shot from a boat on Mull it is not easy to achieve the quality of image we see here from a hand held shot from a boat. Well done to the photographer for such a steady hand and congratulations on 3rd place

This is the second time I have had the pleasure of judging this excellent shot of the peregrine making off with its prey and it remains firmly in my top ten in this competition as it is an incredibly hard shot to achieve given the dynamic movement of the subject. Sharp with good composition the image portrays the speed of this magnificent falcon and the poor surprised sandpiper in its clutches thanks again for entering this competition with an image I enjoy viewing very much.

This shot of a goshawk is one of my favourite images in the competition .As a spontaneous shot capturing the moment the bird takes to the air the photographer has done really well to get as sharp and detailed an image as this. For those new users of the cropped sensor R7 this image shows what the real capability of this camera is as it has delivered a stunning result congratulations on your top ten placing.

this shot of a male kestrel hovering over the grasses is delightful, cropped to perfection the bird fills the frame without being squeezed in. The image is crisp and sharp and has been processed well to make the subject pop whilst maintaining a soft and fresh background depicting the natural habitat in which this little falcon hunts . Thanks for entering such a terrific shot and well done on your top three placing,

This is a lovely shot of one of the Aviemore Ospreys in Scotland and if only the bird was not going away from the photographer then this could have made my top ten I love the detail in the trout and the outstretched wings of the osprey composition is good with the subject filling the frame however a bit less crop and more open space on the left could improve the image. thanks for entering my competition and I am sure your late father would have been proud of your achievement in getting this shot.

Probably my favourite bald eagle image in this competition this is an excellent shot which captures beautifully the power and strength of these fantastic eagles The fish in its talons and the feather detail along with the nice blurry background sets this image apart from the other bald eagle images entered in this competition and in other circumstances could have made my top ten thanks for entering this competition.

This black and white image of a short eared owl hunting is beautifully presented in a composition that depicts the character of these amazing owls which hunt during the daytime in winter, The image is sharp crisp and the black and white tones are stunning demonstrating a level of skill in post processing that has delivered an image that the photographer should be proud of. With so many images of short eared owls in this competition this one is my stand out for the fantastic detail, clarity and composition thanks for entering my competition and congratulations on your top ten placing

This image of an Osprey fishing is for me the stand out image in this competition the clarity, detail and sharpness is exquisite the sense of movement speed and action is thrilling to view and the composition simply excellent with water droplets framing the bird and prey.. Shot at a hide location I am familiar with this is one of the best I have seen and a high risk shot with a 600 mm lens as the photographer had split seconds to capture this one in a lifetime image from close range Congratulations on 1st position and outstanding work

I really like this image of the snowy owl as it approaches the rocks to land White birds are always tricky to get right from an exposure viewpoint and in this case the photographer has delivered a crisp sharp image with excellent retention of detail. The blue sky actually works really well in this shot and enhances the viewers focus on the subject and the rocks with the patches of snow complete a balanced composition of this stunning bird thanks for entering and congratulations on your top ten placing