Bird of Prey

[OzRay]

We were camping this weekend in the High Country (being a long weekend for our Melbourne Cup) and yesterday there was an almighty cacophony in the gully opposite to where we were camping and, upon investigation, we discovered that a Wedge-tailed eagle had caught an Ibis. This had raised the ire of numerous birds, especially several Mudlarks that were in major attack/harassment mode around the eagle. They actually managed to drive off the eagle, who soon came back with re-enforcements (two other eagles), which enabled it a better chance at taking off with the Ibis.

It was quite a spectacle to watch, though we were around 300m away. Everything happened pretty fast and I didn't pay enough attention to the camera settings, so the first shots without the EC-14 were taken at either 1/800sec or 1/1600 sec, but the last two shown where I used the EC-14 were taken at 1/320 sec, which introduced some blur. All were shot handheld with E-M1, 90-250mm and EC-14, with pretty substantial cropping:

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Even with a 700mm equivalent lens, the actual reach was no where near enough to fill the frame. This shows the typical cropping for the shots:

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[chipshot713]

Great captures Ray.

 

[foxtail1]

Wonderful series!

 

[OzRay]

Thanks. I'm kicking myself for not looking more carefully at the camera settings, but my excuse is that I was already on red wine after half a dozen or so beers when the eagle landed (we were camping afterall).

 

[Listener]

great sequence. IQ was not an impediment for my appreciating the images.

 

[OzRay]

great sequence. IQ was not an impediment for my appreciating the images.

Thanks. It's just annoying, as the last shots were a rare opportunity and I'm disappointed with my oversight.

 

[JimUSNY]

At least you captured it and got to see it... not all that bad really considering how far way it was.. I kick myself many times for not being ready even when I am out specifically for birds.. Yesterday evening I was waiting for eagles and it was quiet so my attention went to a small songbird in the shade, changed all my settings and an eagle had to come by at that exact minute of course... and earlier in the day I was watching an eagle perched a half mile up river, finally got tired of waiting to see if it would fly down towards me, as soon as I got to car I look up and there uit went right in front of where I had been waiting

 

[OzRay]

That's the way it always seems to go; been there and done that too many times.

 

[RevBob]

Great set - very cool shots.