This is an African Tawny Eagle called Savannah. I was at my local wildlife park and got chatting with the lads and they let me get up close with all the birds to do some close up portraits then i followed them out to the field for the show and the fella with the Eagle stayed behind for an extra 20 minutes to fly the bird just for me to shoot pics.

This is my favourite bird of prey and I was thrilled to see one of them. So glad I had my camera with me.

The Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Sahara.

While this owl is no bigger than a closed fist, it looks slightly menacing up close with blood on it's beak from a recent kill.

I was thrilled that it sat still long enough for me to snap a few shots. I was lucky enough to have time to try a few different camera settings.

An Osprey, annoyed that I interrupted his lunch, spreads and flaps his wings at me.

It sure is fun watching this fellow scoop seeds up sideways. I found out that woodpeckers have "graineries" where they store seeds inside holes in trees. Best of luck to all competitors.

I photographed this duck in a local park in Clare, Michigan. It was rather used to people so it swam right up to me letting me get a few good photos of it. I know everybody says this but full view is sharper. Good luck to my competitors. Please tell me what you think of it if you have time:)!

Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: Nikkor 70-300mm
Exposure: 1/800 of a sec f/5.6 at 1600 ISO focal length 300

This little gal was flitting all over a garden in the Cloisters. She paused a moment for a photo op.