Usually when something unexpected happens in the field my lens is pointed in another direction but in this instance the timing couldn’t have been much better.
In early spring significant tension in the Pronghorn herds on Antelope Island often leads to intense intimidation and fighting among the males. A month ago today I was watching a Pronghorn buck through my lens when he suddenly sprinted toward another male out of frame to my right with obvious mayhem in mind. I wanted to get an interesting stretched-out running pose so I fired off a few quick bursts as he ran and hoped for the best.
Through my lens I hadn’t noticed anything interesting or unusual happening but when I reviewed the images on my screen at home it became obvious that there had been a near-collision between the buck and an obviously startled starling.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Pronghorn are the second-fastest land mammal on earth (only the cheetah is faster) and though this one wasn’t quite going full tilt its speed here was still impressive (my title speed is just an estimate) so when it flushed this very surprised starling off the ground there was a near-collision. The exaggerated wing position of the bird tells me that it is making every effort to get out of the way in time and it appears that the Pronghorn has his gaze locked onto the bird a few inches in front of its nose. I can’t help but wonder what flashed through the minds of both critters at the instant the shutter fired.
Technically this isn’t a great shot but I still enjoy these kinds of images because I find them visually interesting and they make me wonder just how many other “little things” I miss because I’m not looking in the right direction. Or because the action happens too fast to see or register. Or because I’m just too dense to notice.
Or because the event occurred in-between shutter clicks. “Stuff” happens fast out there.
Ron
Wow! What a catch ron!
Charlotte
Amazing shot, not one that is often captured to say the least.
how cool, Ron!!!
Thank you, Lois.
Love this bit of drama. It’s wonderful that you caught this. It’s so nice to be surprised when reviewing ones images.
“It’s so nice to be surprised when reviewing ones images.”
Exactly, Sharon. Culling images is such a royal pain in the patoot that the only saving grace of the process is that very occasional pleasant surprise when you find something unexpected and fun or interesting.
I am very glad that the imminent collision was avoided. I doubt it would have ended well for the starling. The testosterone drive of the pronghorn may have protected it from feeling much pain at the time though.
I THINK the collision was avoided, EC, but I’m not sure. Another image in the sequence shows two birds close to the Pronghorn but no contact. But at these speeds a lot of things could have happened in the 1/10 second between frames.
Found it…I was scrolling along, minding my business, when Wham! Bam! Alacazam! .. I’d clicked on the column on the right side of the screen…and, Voila! There it was! Doug Bell!!!
Yep, that’s how you did it, Patty. You clicked on that link in the list at right under “Most Popular Posts”. Glad you figured out how you (or your evil iPad) did it. If not, here’s the link to make it easier to find.
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2013/08/01/banded-prairie-falcon-update/
Don’t know how it happened, but evil iPad brought up a “follow up” of yours re: a banded hawk and the guy who banded him..I’ve been .trying to get it back, but can’t. It involved a study on the effects of wind turbines on birds…something I’ve been very worried about. anyway, I’m glad someone is doing it. Birds can’t see the blades and are getting killed by them. We have a HUGE “wind farm” in this state and another off shore in Maine.
Great shot! I’m curious to know if the Pronghorn continued in its quest to cause mayhem, or if it was deterred by this encounter?
Susan, this Pronghorn continued to pursue the other male but it was mostly an intimidation display and the other buck kept about the same distance between the two at all times. When the pursuing Pronghorn would stop, so would the pursued animal. There never was a fight that I saw.
What a capture!!! I guess that, poor startled bird made it, but it must have been a mighty close call…I ‘ll bet that tiny heart was going lije mad!
Patty, I wondered if the poor Pronghorn got a punctured nose out of the deal. Starling beaks are sharp on the end!
I recall a book by Dan Rather “The Camera Never Blinks”, and so with this picture it is again proven.
I remember hearing about that book, Steven, though I never read it.
Hope the starling’s insurance included collision coverage. About “too fast to see” …. yes, the camera catches a lot that we don’t see. The visual system is slow. Studies of perceptual simultaneity that vary the interval between successive presentations of the same stimulus report that if the interval is less than approximately 30 milliseconds the stimuli are reported as simultaneous rather than successive. The exact interval depends on the state of light/dark adaptation, the intensity of the stimuli, and other factors. Your shutter was open for about one third of a millisecond and at a frame rate of 10/sec, would capture 10 independent records of the action. Presumably our visual system would have merged all of this into part of a single percept.
Fascinating info Dave – thanks for providing it. As usual, you’re my go-to guy with anything related to vision or the nervous system (or sharpening technique, I might add…). It explains at least part of the reason that I miss so much of what my camera is able to capture at these speeds.