The most challenging hike during my recent trip to Big Bend National Park was up the Lost Mine Trail. A “moderate”, 4.8-mile round trip hike begins at the trailhead located at mile 5.1 on the Basin Road. We headed out early enough to reach the top about 30 minutes prior to sunrise. I noticed a couple of Common Ravens flying around as I was waiting for the sun to rise. They came to rest on the horizon and I decided that a silhouette image of them against the red sky would make for a good photo.
Common Ravens are present throughout the Big Bend area. Of the birds classified as perching birds, the Common Raven is the largest, the size of a hawk. Often its deep croaking call will alert the observer to a pair of ravens soaring high overhead. This was the case when I was photographing the area. An intelligent and remarkably adaptable bird, living as a scavenger and predator, it can survive at all seasons in surroundings as different as hot desert and high Arctic tundra. Once driven from much of its eastern range, the raven is now making a comeback.
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark III using my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 Lens set on 105 mm. The camera was set on Aperture priority mode with the aperture set at f/5.6, shutter speed at 1/30 th of a second and the ISO set at 100. This was a single image processed in Lightroom.
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I like the silhouette and the sky colors.
Thanks Rick. I was amazed at how large these birds were.