Peregrine on Kill

[James Galletto]

This Peregrine is dining on a Northern Flicker and is the most cooperative Peregrine I've ever encountered.

Canon 5D 500mm f4 1.4x, Manual exposure incident meter 1/1000 @ f11 Iso 800.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

He doesn't look as if he wants to share. :) Great find, light and details. I wish for a slightly higher angle to be able to see the feet.

[Tony Whitehead]

Well caught, James. Good hunched feding pose - gore and feather on the beak complete the mood. I might crop in tighter on the Peregrine, patch out the debris in front of the bird and burn the edges in slightly.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nice to have such an opportunity present itself. Very often raptors will be more tolerant when on a fresh kill. I'm curious to know if you have some images of this scene where the prey is unmistakably a Flicker (wouldn't have known if you didn't mention it)? That would be very cool. If you are comfortable with it I would definitely get rid of the stuff if front of the subject, and maybe lighten (but not eliminate)the dark spot in the BG close to the face.

[Fabs Forns]

Hey stranger, long time no see :)


Excellent catch, great detail and BG, keep them coming!

[christopher galeski]

nice shot,I hope you dont mind,but it looks more like a saker falcon to me,I have watched peregrines for many years,I know juveniles are brown and are bluish on cere and round eye,but I have never seen a peregrine with head markings like this one.If it is a juvenile perigrine,then I am glad I have seen this one with these markings thankyou.