As we headed back across the grassed area behind the beach of Sandy Bay we met a small contingent led by Tui De Roy who were heading in search of a pair of New Zealand Falcons. We had heard stories of someone on a previous trip who had lost their cap (and some blood) to a falcon and Tui had apparently managed to locate it. The day was getting late and light levels were dropping so there was little light to work with in the forest edge but we soon had sight of the pair. The male, especially was quite defensive flying repeatedly toward the group. Bumping up my ISO on the Nikon D810 to 1600 gave me a usable 1/400s at f4 on the 200-400mm so after grabbing a few quick shots we retreated to avoid any further distress to the birds. Later on reviewing the files I was pleased with the sharpness and had a couple of useful poses. NZ Falcons are easy to photograph at Wingspan but wild ones are another matter. I am always excited to see one in the wild but it is usually while I am driving  a car with the bird in flight so no photo opportunity. Having processed the files I am very pleased with the results as they are my nicest images of perched falcons.

The New Zealand Falcon is widespread but rare and is a single species divided into 3 forms. The smallest and darkest, Bush Falcon from the North Island and Northwest South Island, the largest and lightest Eastern Falcon from the Eastern and Central South Island, and the intermediate Southern Falcon from Fiordland, Stewart Island and Auckland Islands. This was my first encounter with this Southern form which added to the excitement. NZ Birds Online has more info on this species and now includes my photo of this bird.

Falcon photos with Nikon D810 and 200-400mm f4 lens, others with Nikon D3s and 24-120mm f4 lens