![\"merlin](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/merlin-6337-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLast month I posted a few images of this Merlin in the fog.\u00a0 For subtle reasons this may be my favorite from\u00a0the entire session with the bird.<\/p>\n
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1\/160, f\/10, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Some will recall that this falcon was eating a\u00a0small bird (meadowlark perhaps) at dawn that it had apparently cached the night before.\u00a0 It was incredibly cold for mid-September (11 degrees F. is frigid, even for the Centennial Valley) and the prey was frozen solid so the\u00a0Merlin had to work hard to pull small, icy chunks of flesh off of the bird.\u00a0 The light was low to start with but then seconds before this shot was taken\u00a0lake fog began to move in so my shutter speed (1\/160 sec)\u00a0was quite slow.<\/p>\n I have several images somewhat\u00a0similar to this one but because of the head angle this may be my favorite.\u00a0 The rising sun was trying to burn through the fog to my left and for just a moment the Merlin looked up and turned my way which put warm light on the face that I really enjoy.\u00a0 The fog had a slight muting effect on detail but I’m ok with that because to my eye it isn’t significant and it’s what you’d naturally expect from fog anyway.<\/p>\n Soon after this image was taken the fog enveloped the Merlin so I drove on down the road\u00a0and let the\u00a0little falcon\u00a0enjoy its meal without distraction.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last month I posted a few images of this Merlin in the fog. For subtle reasons this may be my favorite from the entire session with the bird.<\/p>\n