On the way home from St Augustine, we decided to stop at Viera Wetlands and take a peek, even though the light was pretty strong. The only subject visible was the Cara, eating the eggs of a nest, probably turtle, excavating with gusto and messing his chest plumage in the way. I tried to disguise the harsh light as best i could in the post-processing, not usual for us to take pictures at this time, but this is when we were there and when the action was on.
D300, 200-400/4 VR
f/5.6, 1/1250 ISO 400
hand held from the ground
I like it, Fabs. You did very well considering the light. A great moment captured - the yolk on the breast adds to the story. Good pose and head angle. I like the placement of the bird in the frame though I might wish for a bit more room on top.
Hey Fabs, I am home safe. Wonderful capture and optimization. Steve pretty much nailed everything. All that I might add is that lightening/brightening the iris would likely improve it a bit more.
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Cool image with the turtle egg in its mouth! Glad that you had a chance to stop by and check in on the action at Viera. As far as the yellow on the breast feathers, that is actually the birds crop (used to store food). The Crested Caracara can have a very prominent crop when it's full (it's not even close to full here) and it can look like a tennis ball stuck to their front. I have one image I'll try to share.
Cara Cara Raiding a Nest
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