Hawk Watch at High Park: photography

[pacharo]

Looking forward to the Hawk Watch this late summer and fall:
is photography usually possible?  
are the migrants only seen in flight? if so, is BIF shooting feasible or are the birds too far or too fast-moving?
any advice on lenses (on a 1.5 cropped sensor camera)? e.g. will a 300/4 plus 1.4 TC be the right lens? is a 500/4 better, with or without TC?

[Kin Lau]

I've never heard of any photographers going to High Park for BIF shots, but I've spent quite a bit of time at Cranberry Marsh hawk watch, and it's quite good there. Sharpies, Kestrels and Merlins will fly very low across the marsh, often come at your head on, some of the eagles will come low across the marsh as well.

Many of the Red-Tails, Harriers, Roughies will hang around Hall Road since it's a good spot to grab a bite.

About 400mm, ie a 300/4 + 1.4xTC will be preferred. The platform can be a bit crowded on good flight days, so a 500/4 is a bit too cumbersome.

[KPaw]

A couple of people on this forum are regular attendees of the High Park Hawk Watch.   Many people, birders and non-birders but photographers, stop by to take photos.   The area on Hawk Watch Hill usually has plenty of room for set-up, etc.   You will need a very long lens but the view of the sky and their travel direction (the hawks, that is) is quite unobstructed by trees plus, the very regular Toronto Ornithological Club members that record it all on paper are very helpful.

[pacharo]

Thank you Kin Lau for setting me straight about High Park.  Thank you also for the tips about Cranberry Marsh. You're so right about the platform getting crowded especially if folks are using 500s and 600s on huge tripods.

Is there anything to see, any time of year, from the other platform, just south of Victoria St. and accessed via a boardwalk off the CA parking lot (it overlooks Lynde Creek)? On a visit this past May all I saw was a family of mute swans.

[pacharo]

Thank you KPaw. I guess some BIF photos are possible if your are good at it. I imagine another challenge is getting a parking spot on a good viewing day...

[ravynne40]

I go to High Park when I can and do not have to work for the hawk watch, I use a 500mm sigma and it does come in handy for ID but most of the time the shots are blurry, sometimes we are lucky enough to have hawks low enough to get a decent shot and some also land in the trees, bring your bins though!

[Kin Lau]

Thank you Kin Lau for setting me straight about High Park.  Thank you also for the tips about Cranberry Marsh. You're so right about the platform getting crowded especially if folks are using 500s and 600s on huge tripods.

Is there anything to see, any time of year, from the other platform, just south of Victoria St. and accessed via a boardwalk off the CA parking lot (it overlooks Lynde Creek)? On a visit this past May all I saw was a family of mute swans.

From the Lynde Shores side (the side with paid parking), the feeders often have good birds during spring/fall, and early winter. In the creek itself, once the marsh starts freezing up, all the waterfowl gets concentrated near the bridge. There's usually a good selection of waterfowl out in the marsh during migration as well. As with most places, early in the day is best, many parents today think it's okay to let their child throw whatever they can get their hands on.

[pacharo]

Thank you.
I assume you mean the bridge of Victoria over the creek, East of the CA pay parking lot (I am looking at the Google satellite image).

[mr.sharp-photo]

i had the same question and went a few years back. i actually thought the hawks came down and flew right over (or landed near) the observers.
you'll see tiny specs in the sky. nothing more.

Rosetta Mclain and Cranberry Marsh are the places for birds in flight/raptor counts. one of my cooler experiences last year was at Rosetta Mclain, watching the sharp-shin hawks fly down real low over the park. You get chances for many great pics and will see ospreys, other raptors and even some bald eagles (although very high) fly by.

just a warning: Rosetta's crowd is supernice. Frank and Walter and Ann are very helpful. not intimidating. the crowd at Cranberry Marsh is wound up a lot tighter. i basically backed away from the hawk watch since it wasn't fun to see ppl yelling at each other over birds.

[pacharo]

ravyyne40: thank you for your reply.  Sounds like trying to shoot hawks at the High Park Watch is a tall order.

mr.sharp-photo: thank you for the practical info re. High Park vs. Rosetta Mclain and Cranberry Marsh!
btw: that's a great collection of bird images you have on your site

[ravynne40]

ravyyne40: thank you for your reply.  Sounds like trying to shoot hawks at the High Park Watch is a tall order.

mr.sharp-photo: thank you for the practical info re. High Park vs. Rosetta Mclain and Cranberry Marsh!
btw: that's a great collection of bird images you have on your site

Pacharo it is fun, and challenging indeed, but sometimes you can get lucky and get a few good ones in.

[Bluffs Birder]

Thanks for the kind words Richard.  When BIGFRANK started his Hawk Watch at Rosetta it was really just for the pure enjoyment of seeing the birds migrating, the counting was secondary...and it's still that way today.  Frank, Ann, myself and the rest of the gang absolutely love to share this wonderful event with anyone and everyone who stops by.

Here's a link to some amazing photos and great stories from the Hawk Watch over the years.

http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com/

Walter

[BoboBird]

Hey Walter.

What would be a good time to visit you guys and the birds of course.

[Bluffs Birder]

The second week of September is generally when things really start to 'fly'.

Walter

[angieinto]

Rob and I are looking forward to coming out to the East end to check this out this year too after talking to Big Frank about it so much.