I was looking for Short eared owls but no luck, whilst I was waiting there was a pair of obliging Stonechat. I think the prey item is a hairy moth caterpillar. I am not sure if a faster SS would have been beneficial it was blowing quite strongly.
Olympus E-M1X
Focal Length : 420.0mm
Focal length in 35 mm film : 841.0mm
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
ISO : 6400
Exposure compensation : 0.0 EV
Shutter : 1/1600 sec
Aperture : F5.6
Love this scene with prey item adding even more. Looks like shutter speed was enough and love the BG as well. Minor nit, wish you pointed down a little more but love it as is. TFS
Shutter speed doesn't seem to be an issue here as bird is nice and sharp. Prey adds interest, and I think the perch is pretty cool; it's a bit busy but it's a perfect representation of how this bird appears in the wild. Background is really nice as well. Frame feels a bit cool, so I might warm it a touch.
For starters, the mottled bkg is great. And for a dead perch, this one does have quite a lot of interest.
Now the pose of the subject is just great and the grub/caterpillar is super!! I like the processing on the detail and sharpness front.
The image as a whole does feel a touch muted on the saturation front and maybe slightly cold, but I know we all have slightly different opinions on that front. May be worth one last run through though.
Thanks everyone for your comments, I agree the colours do look a little pale, they were boosted somewhat as presented. Like many days in winter in this location it was cold and partly misty and rather dull. As it urns out I have a very similar image of this bird's mate, I'll have another look at that and perhaps post it though of course the female has less colour than the male.