Hit or Miss?

[Bonnie Block]

You decide!! Did she make the catch?
I wish I had the $$$ shot of dunlin in hand---but that will have to wait for another day. ;)
Peregrine Falcon on the hunt, raiding a flock of dunlins that have come off the water at high tide and are soaking up some morning warmth from the sun on a farmers field. Samish Flats, Wa.
Canon 7D 500/4
1/2500s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso400 Handheld

[Marina Scarr]

Not a hit like the first one, but a hit nonetheless. I would take a tad off the bottom and a little more off of the right to give the falcon more movement into the frame.

[Manjesh Lingamurthy]

Hi Bonnie

This image tells the story. Flying dunlins in the background, falcon taking off and flying towards the prey is great. I like the composition.

Manjesh

[Christian Dionne]

I agree with Marina, the last peregrine shot you had was better IMO, I would still be happy with this one myself though...

Not quite enough eye contact, it might be an optical illusion, but I think it needs a little CCW rotation.
Great BG as the last one.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Bonnie. A very cool series you have going here. Since you asked the question, here's my guess. Unless it's an optical illusion, I would say that the splash under the falcon is caused by a dunlin hitting the water - it looks like part of the dunlin is visible through the splash. If this is true, then the question becomes - was the dunlin struck by the peregrine or did it dive into the water on its own. I have seen, on more than one occasion, a flying shorebird dive into the water to escape pursuit by another bird (e.g., a spotted sandpiper chased by a red-winged blackbird). I don't see any feathers in the air above the splash so I'm guessing the falcon missed and the dunlin lived to flee another day. :) I'll be eager to hear what really happened.

[Bonnie Block]

Hi Bonnie. A very cool series you have going here. Since you asked the question, here's my guess. Unless it's an optical illusion, I would say that the splash under the falcon is caused by a dunlin hitting the water - it looks like part of the dunlin is visible through the splash. If this is true, then the question becomes - was the dunlin struck by the peregrine or did it dive into the water on its own. I have seen, on more than one occasion, a flying shorebird dive into the water to escape pursuit by another bird (e.g., a spotted sandpiper chased by a red-winged blackbird). I don't see any feathers in the air above the splash so I'm guessing the falcon missed and the dunlin lived to flee another day. :) I'll be eager to hear what really happened.

Steve, I think that the peregrine had struck the dunlin and missed the grab--she came back and picked it up a few seconds later.

[Steve Maxson]

Steve, I think that the peregrine had struck the dunlin and missed the grab--she came back and picked it up a few seconds later.

Cool! Must have been a treat to observe this!