1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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>\nInstead he surprised me by changing his mind and grasping the vole in his talons prior to taking off to my left. This shot caught him just as he was beginning to raise his wings for launch. He actually extended his wings all the way out but didn’t take off – a behavior I find to be fairly common in falcons.<\/p>\n
Then he just sat there trying to decide if he wanted to take off, and if he did which way to go. Eventually he took off to my left but his face was shaded in both takeoff shots I managed to get.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In particular I liked my series of shots like the first one above with the vole hanging down from his beak. The clean background behind the vole allows us an excellent look at the deceased little rodent without any blood or gory bits visible to disturb sensitive viewers. The wooden post is about as old and weathered as they come and I like the complementary colors of bird and background.<\/p>\n
I posted other photos of this bird three years ago but I thought these two also deserved their moment in the sun..<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Addendum: Since I mentioned in my text that he fully extended his wings without actually taking off I decided I should have included one of those photos in my original post. I posted this shot three years ago. Notice the tiny bit of vole flesh stuck to his lower mandible in this photo and the previous one.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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He just couldn’t make up his mind.<\/p>\n
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