Osprey grabs a fish at Sto. Tomas

[Romy Ocon]

This migratory raptor, whose wingspan exceeds four feet, feeds exclusively on fish. Its diving routine to catch its regular meal is one of nature's awesome spectacles.

I was privileged to witness this fishing raptor get its prey at the vast fishponds of Sto. Tomas recently. The bird closes its nictitating membrane (a semi-transparent secondary eyelid) at the point of impact to protect its eyes from damage. When this image was taken a split second after the grab, the nictitating membrane was still unretracted.

Again, I'm impressed by the amazingly quick AF of my new BIF rig (7D MII + 400 f/4 DO IS II + 1.4x TC II). My reaction time to acquiring and tracking the diving hunter was delayed, but the combo was quick enough to compensate for the shooter's slowness. It managed to lock in almost instantly to capture this first frame of a short burst.

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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus, migrant)

Habitat - Associated with water both along coast and inland.

Shooting Info - Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines, December 9, 2015, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + EF 1.4x TC III, 560 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, major crop resized to 1575 x 1050.

 

[Bobby Kintanar]

Hehehe. The 7D2 with a 400 mm makes BIF shooting almost effortless; even those with the 1D4 or 1Dx are surprised by its AF performance:-) In the hands of Ka Mastah, that combo will eat BIF's for breakfast, lunch and dinner! :-)

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, Ka Bobby.... the AF of the combo is so good that sometimes I feel it's already cheating.

[Tateo Osawa]

Great capture of Osprey, Romy. I always expecting take photos of raptors in Jugan, I hope someday nice shots like yours photos.

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, Tateo-san! Here in the fishponds of La Union, an Osprey or a Brahminy Kite visits at least once every afternoon, and makes fishing dives until it catches a meal, then it's gone for the day.

[William Lim]

A wow shot!

[Romy Ocon]

Thanks, Doc William!

[Godfrey "Godo" Jakosalem]

Great action!

[Romy Ocon]

Nice to see you around, Godo.... thanks!