Center deck

From Photo of the day (2009)

I've been meaning to take this shot for a long time - I'm guessing most people who read this blog probably don't know why I picked the web address I did: centerdeck.blogspot.com. "Center deck" is a falconry term, or possibly just an avian term, referring to one of the center two tail feathers on a bird. They are the only two flight feathers that have the quill straight down the middle of the feather as opposed to having more webbing on one side of the quill than the other. They also form the two tail feathers you see on a bird that has its tail all folded away below them. So here is a center deck from a red-tailed hawk. I got this feather when I worked for a falconry center on Vancouver Island - naturally moulted, don't worry I didn't pluck anybody. This one is from a dark morphed adult bird - that is its whole body is dark brown with little or no markings, and it has already gained its red tail (first year immatures have a brown tail with strong bars). The markings on the tail feather are also typical of a dark morph bird, an eastern bird will have only a slight black bar at the end and be a brighter red, a western bird will likely be only slightly brighter and have slightly less barring.
And here I am working with cows and goats.....

Anyways - I touched up the highlights and a bit of fill light (I had to stand on a chair and use my long lens for this, and then it was with a flash in the house) and then sharpened it in Picasa.