sswildlife
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- Shravan Sundaram
The Unlucky One - A Swainson's Hawk nails a Mexican Free-tailed Bat in midair before eating it on the wing.
I had never seen this behavior before, so it was a treat to observe and document. I typically photograph wildlife with the sun behind me, but in this case, breaking the rule and shooting with the sun in front of me was the right move to illuminate the bats against the sky.
Interestingly, the Swainson's Hawks seemed even more successful than the Peregrine Falcons in catching the bats on this evening. These bats are among the fastest flying animals in level flight and very agile too, so it's amazing to see the raptors making easy work of them.
Species: Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) & Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
Location: California, USA
Equipment: Sony A9 III + 200-600mm
Settings: 1/1600s, ISO: 500, f/6.3 @600mm, Handheld
I had never seen this behavior before, so it was a treat to observe and document. I typically photograph wildlife with the sun behind me, but in this case, breaking the rule and shooting with the sun in front of me was the right move to illuminate the bats against the sky.
Interestingly, the Swainson's Hawks seemed even more successful than the Peregrine Falcons in catching the bats on this evening. These bats are among the fastest flying animals in level flight and very agile too, so it's amazing to see the raptors making easy work of them.
Species: Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) & Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)
Location: California, USA
Equipment: Sony A9 III + 200-600mm
Settings: 1/1600s, ISO: 500, f/6.3 @600mm, Handheld
- ILCE-9M3
- FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
- 600.0 mm
- ƒ/6.3
- 1/1600 sec
- ISO 500
