Fun Friday: Food Fight on the Prairie

Today’s “Fun Friday” post comes from a recent photo trip to Shawnee Trails Conservation Area, located in southwestern Missouri. During the winters, I frequently visit this Missouri Conservation Area to photograph wintering Short-eared Owls. On my last trip there, I was set up and waiting for the owl activity to begin, when I saw several Norther Harrier hawks flying low over the prairies, watching for field mice and voles.

At one point, I observed one harrier chasing another one, high overhead. I turned my camera towards this pair of hawks and started photographing. As I later edited these images, I quickly saw what the activity was about … one of the hawks had a vole and the second hawk was trying to pirate it from the first, causing the vole to be dropped from his talons:

Northern Harrier Hawks

Photographic Equipment Used:

  • Canon 7D Mark 2 body
  • Canon 500mm, f/4 IS lens + Canon 1.4x TC
  • Bogen 3221 tripod with Wemberly gimbal head
  • ISO 1600
  • Aperture f/5.6
  • Shutter 1/1250 sec.

 

 

Posted in Bird Photography, Fun Friday Post, Nature Photography
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