Merlin at the Beach.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Apart from some owls I've never had too much luck with raptors. That changed Saturday morning when I got a chance close encounter with a Merlin. Judging from the blood on its bill it had just finished consuming prey and was looking to wash itself before continuing on its' daily ongoings. It landed no more than 15-20 feet away from me on this beautiful clump of fallen autumn leaves, then proceeded to walk to the water and bathe...just like a robin in a backyard birdbath!! (photos of that to come too...stay tuned).

Canon 7D + 100-400L @400mm, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/1000s., f/7.1, ISO 400, no EC, natural light, handheld, slight crop for composition, a few highlights in the leaves tamed via 50% opacity clone stamp.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Dan, apart from visiting our Kruger National Park which is once a year for a couple of days, Im in the same boat as you with regards to minimal raptor sightings. Cool angle here, well placed in the frame, and tack sharp. I suppose an unusual perch for this guy, but hey, its the subject that counts.

[Ken Watkins]

Daniel,

Great to have a change of luck, now and again.

A beautiful bird well captured, the BG could be considered to be a bit of a nuisance, but I do not mind it at all

[Mital Patel]

Daniel,

Lucky you are to have Merlin at beach :)..
I loved the vegetation perch and makes it unique frame for me.

[Mark Itol]

Great luck on you, Dan. Love the pose and the environment here.

[Grace Scalzo]

You have a unique and interesting image here. Can't wait for the bath.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Daniel, very unique shot....never seen a Merlin like this :-) loved the POV and the light. details, PP...excellent as always. Looking forward to the series.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

The lighting gives him excellent definition, unusual 'perch' as mentioned, but always fun to see something a bit different.

I like the subtle horizontal pattern in the blue background.

I might darken the single stem sticking up right along the bottom of the frame.

Looking forward to bath!

Cheers

Randy

[Chris Kotze]

Well done getting this one. Super detail, colours and IQ, I don't mind the perch at all, great image

[Steve Canuel]

A different look but definitely a pleasing one for me. Nice light and bits of color provided by the leaves.

[Karl Egressy]

Great finding and a beuty picture, Daniel.
Never seen one on the ground.
This guys like to be on the top of the tallest tree.

[yogesh_puranik]

i just liked his eye..fantastic..image..and congrats for raptor photo..wish that you will get all types of raptors :)

[RakeshDhareshwar]

Awesome capture of the raptor on the ground . The in focus leaves add to the image , but am not sure about the OOF leaves .