Roller Lunch

Gallery: AvianPosted June 14, 2011350 views25 comments

I have long wanted to capture this behaviour exhibited by LBR's in Southern Africa. After catching large insects like this grasshopper, they would non-chalantly flip it in the air to get a better "orientation" before swallowing. If you aren't watching closely you wouldn't even notice it, it's that quick.

Captured in Savute, Botswana, May 2011. Having seen the roller perching with a grasshopper in its mouth, I hoped it would remain facing me and waited for the action.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 300mm f2.8 L IS USM + 1.4x TC-II (420mm)
f5.6 @ 1/1600 SS @ ISO-400

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Verdon on June 14, 2011 at 3:43 PM

three thumbs up

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on June 14, 2011 at 3:46 PM

Very neat. I have seen pictures of this before. Some egrets do something similar with minnows and other munchies. Aside from that, a very skillful shot with excellent results. Even with the harsh light, this is a great shot!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on June 14, 2011 at 4:31 PM

Nicely timed Morkel, with good detail & colour. Yes the light is harsh, but well done, as I feel the capture outweighs the negative light.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on June 14, 2011 at 5:44 PM

Excellent work indeed !
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 14, 2011 at 6:00 PM

I like this much better than my bug flipping shot Morkel. I wasn't prepared for mine until that exact moment, so my SS was only 1/500 and it created a little more motion blur than I wanted. Great stop action on yours! Perfect techs.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on June 14, 2011 at 7:28 PM

Well done - love it!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Cristiano Xavier on June 14, 2011 at 7:37 PM

perfect freeze !

I like the colors and the sharpness !!

Registered on May 30, 2011, 10 Posts, 24 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 14, 2011 at 10:32 PM

Excellent catch, Morkel. I've seen other birds do very similar things to get the prey the way they want it.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 14, 2011 at 11:32 PM

Great job stopping the action Morkel, my only thought is I wonder if it would work better as a horizontal if you have any more room on the left.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 14, 2011 at 11:47 PM

Everything about this is great. Bird, behavior and background.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 15, 2011 at 4:08 AM

I have burned this this into my mind to help me better visualise the exact same brilliantly frozen action with of my Indian Rollers over here; seen it more than a few times, even captured a flip like this, but the lighting and my settings were working completely against each other and causing me great disappointment when I saw it large on my screen once back home. But I'll get there, and this image of yours is now the new standard I'll be setting my future attempts by.

Many thanks for sharing this inspirational shot Morkel :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on June 15, 2011 at 7:17 AM

Morkel: simply fantastic. I'm straining to find more words or some type of critique but really, this is just a crazy great image. Nicely envisioned and perfectly captured. You nailed it.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 15, 2011 at 7:44 AM

Excellent work Morkel, everything looks fantastic.
Your hard work and dedication shows here, a beautiful outcome

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 15, 2011 at 9:24 AM

Sooo cool. Excellent timing.I really like the angle of the bird as well.

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

Comment posted by Phil Ellard on June 15, 2011 at 10:32 AM

very nice, great pose nicely taken

Registered on December 17, 2010, 60 Posts, 634 Comments

Comment posted by Darren McKenna on June 15, 2011 at 10:37 AM

Excellent timing and behavior.

Registered on October 28, 2008, 31 Posts, 214 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on June 15, 2011 at 11:28 AM

thanks very much for your kind comments everybody!

this was cropped from horizontal so I will look at doing another composition of this.
I wanted as much detail as possible so cropped out the space on either side of the bird.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on June 15, 2011 at 12:08 PM

Great colours, detail and timing. Very well done.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Carl Battreall on June 15, 2011 at 2:13 PM

Brilliant!

Registered on August 29, 2007, 24 Posts, 222 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on June 15, 2011 at 6:50 PM

Beautiful bird, nice perch, great action, catch light, and complementary BG. One to treasure.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on June 16, 2011 at 8:13 AM

Great capture! Outstanding work.
Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on June 16, 2011 at 8:18 AM

Great shot Morkel. I like the grasshopper in mid air and the light into the LBR mouth. Looks like Savute treated you well.

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on June 16, 2011 at 6:24 PM

thanks a bunch for all the kind feedback!!