Powerful Owl fledgling Ninox strenua Vulnerable in Victoria November 1st, 2017 Wantirna South, Victoria, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash
Black-shouldered Kite with House Mouse prey Elanus axillaris January 3rd, 2018 Werribee, Victoria, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens Canon EF 1.4x III Extender Just after dusk we witnessed two Black-shouldered Kites hovering in the open fields of the Western Treatment Plant on the hunt for a meal. We watched as one of them quickly dropped to the ground & picked up a mouse. Then it flew to the fence line a hundred metres up the road from us, so we jumped in our cars & pulled up nearby. It's in these kind of lighting situations that I really love the performance of my camera. The sun was gone so I bumped the ISO to 3200 to keep the shutter at a decent rate (1/1000). With a little noise reduction on the background, the images cleaned up really well, & I was able to capture some amazing action shots! Look closely - you can see how the Kite is holding down its prey with one of its talons piercing the poor mouse's shoulders :o
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (male) Calyptorhynchus funereus December 12th, 2017 Launching Place, Victoria, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens Canon EF 1.4x III Extender I often have a family of these beauties fly over my house, but rarely do they present themselves for photo opportunities. Every time I hear their unmistakable calls I pop my head outside to watch them slowly fly by. So I was pretty stoked when they decided to drop into the neighbour's yard for a feed one evening in December. Even more exciting when they allowed for a close approach!
