1\/800, f\/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nOne morning in early January two years ago I was on my way to a local pond to look for birds when I encountered this female (presumed, based on size) Peregrine Falcon in the thickly frosted grass. I was surprised that she was on the ground and that she didn’t fly off as I approached. I couldn’t see any prey so at first I was worried she might be sick or injured.<\/p>\n
The sun was behind dark clouds over the mountains so the light was poor and I struggled for shutter speed.<\/p>\n
Eventually it became obvious what was keeping her on the ground. She’d apparently killed a coot the previous evening and had returned to it for breakfast. The only hint of the coot we get in this photo is what appears to be dark grass and a tiny splash of red directly in front of her feet. Her right foot is raised in preparation for clamping down on the coot when she begins to feed.<\/p>\n
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1\/1000, f\/6.3, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nNow we can see a little more of what’s left of the coot. There were coot bits strewn about on all sides of her but I couldn’t see most of them until she began to pick at her food. Many of my shots of her actually feeding were soft because of issues with shutter speed and depth of field in the poor light but in these two sharp photos I caught her holding still as she checked me out to make sure I wasn’t a potential threat.<\/p>\n
In following days I found her near the pond several more times but she was always perched on top of a nearby utility pole so good photos were difficult if not impossible to come by.<\/p>\n
Two years later I still look for her on my regular trips to the pond. For this bird photographer memories like this one die hard.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
She was on prey although it was difficult to see at first.<\/p>\n
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