An aplomado falcon selected for the March 1, 2014 cover. (Courtesy Phil Hull)

An aplomado falcon selected for the March 1, 2014 cover. (Courtesy Phil Hull)

Pest management, the theme for Good Fruit Grower’s March 1 issue, is often a challenge to illustrate.

This year, we were fortunate in that Phil Hull submitted a series of striking photos of an aplomado falcon being flown for bird pest abatement in a Yakima Valley vineyard near Cold Creek east of Moxee, Washington. The falcon is quite a bit more pleasing to look at than the parasitized stinkbug eggs on our 2013 pest management cover!

The close-up shot we chose for our March 1, 2014 cover was shot at 1/400 second, f/6.3, ISO 400, using a Canon 7D digital camera with a Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS lens.