Merlin Feeding - Grisly

Gallery: AvianPosted March 28, 2010383 views25 comments

A few of you asked for more shots from this series so here you go. You can't say you weren't warned

Although the Robin looks like it has some life to it, it was quite dead at this point. This is about 80% of FF. Like the others from this series it was shot out my car window.

50D 500F4 1/500 F8 iso 320, evaluative metering -0.3

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on March 28, 2010 at 7:47 PM

Wow, pretty dramatic image. Like how you have a clear shot of the robin's head.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on March 28, 2010 at 7:50 PM

How interesting that you got catchlights in both bird's eyes Nate! This is graphic but very true to life.

Congrats on your showcase images with NANPA!

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on March 28, 2010 at 8:19 PM

The circle of life in the wild. Great capture Nate. Sharp and great eyes on both the predator and pray.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Moore on March 28, 2010 at 8:34 PM

Brutal reality!
really good image.

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 28, 2010 at 8:46 PM

Sad and dramatic . The hawk is just being a hawk. Cool that the robin's head is visible and that it's clearly a robin.
Excellent..

Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on March 28, 2010 at 9:26 PM

A very compelling image Nate. It clearly conveys the life and death struggle in nature in a single dramatic moment.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 28, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Thanks for posting more of the series. Grisly, but everybody's got to eat something.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 29, 2010 at 12:07 AM

wow, Nate, this is a powerful shot. it's one thing to see a raptor with its prey, but to see it tugging at the very recognizable head is really something. great details, nice light, and a very powerful moment. thanks for posting this.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 29, 2010 at 12:29 AM

Just sweet - gotta love nature!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on March 29, 2010 at 12:39 AM

Quite the capture, Nate! Ditto on Mia's comment regarding the catch light in both the bird's eyes. As we all know too well, nature is not kind and gentle; this picture is quite a testament to that.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 29, 2010 at 1:01 AM

Nate, Very, very cool capture here....as Mia said, you got catchlight in both eyes!!! Amazing

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 29, 2010 at 2:12 AM

Great shot Nate - wonderful series. Nice to be in the right spot at the right time.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 29, 2010 at 3:37 AM

Wonderful natural history Nate.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on March 29, 2010 at 7:16 AM

Magnificent post Nate, not an action that is captured frequently. Thanks for showing this.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 29, 2010 at 8:11 AM

Great shot Nate. The fact that the merlin is working on the robin's head makes the image for me. Good stuff showing nature as it really is and hopefully will continue to be.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 29, 2010 at 8:24 AM

Very touching n beautiful ! Shows how things can be deceptive in life.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on March 29, 2010 at 9:05 AM

Not a pretty sight but certainly an excellent image record of the Merlin feeding, Nate. Nice detail and color. A small suggestion: maybe you could drag out more detail in the Merlin's leg by selectively reducing exposure on it.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on March 29, 2010 at 12:35 PM

It's pretty hard to gross me out....but you ALMOST did it here.

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 29, 2010 at 1:03 PM

Nate,
dramatic scene of daily life, really well captured.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Roy Bailey on March 29, 2010 at 3:27 PM

Great series Nate, cant get enough of merlin shots especially as good as these.

Registered on November 16, 2008, 24 Posts, 486 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 29, 2010 at 5:52 PM

This is nature at it's most graphic for sure, Excellent natural history photo Nate!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on March 29, 2010 at 6:08 PM

A bit gruesome for me but this is nature. Lovely image of it's type with the bird and prey sharp and detailed. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 29, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Great capture but still breaks my heart. Well done

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 29, 2010 at 8:43 PM

Heckuva shot Nate, for reasons already mentioned. Not for everyone obviously, but for me it's not much different than a waxwing eating berries - it's just the way things are and I like to see it documented, all of it. I just find it all so incredibly interesting, esp when photographed well like this. Gotta admit, you've got me thinking of posting some kestrel images I haven't quite dared to post...

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on March 29, 2010 at 9:30 PM

Wow Nate! what a capture. This is nature at it truest. I agree that you almost grossed me out, and that is hard to do, but I love the picture.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments