Mid-air attempted mugging (5)

squirl033 · Nov 5, 2016

Caught this little skirmish between a short-eared owl and a female northern harrier over nearby meadow yesterday. The light was horrid, and the action took place a good 200 yards away, so these aren't very good shots, but they do show the action rather well. It seems the owl had caught a vole, and the harrier wanted it. After a brief scuffle, the harrier wound up with the prize, but the owl returned to try to take it back. In the end, neither of them got supper, as the vole got dropped and the two combatants went their separate ways...

Dean_Gretsch · Nov 5, 2016

Nice action shots! I bet that was a thrill to see.

bulldurham · Nov 6, 2016

Don't you just hate it when this kind of action is taking place and either you don't have the right lens, are too far way or the weather forces hair-raising grain because you have to jack the ISO through the roof...Nature can really be quite adversarial at times

- But, still fun to watch.

jcdeboever · Nov 6, 2016

I love the mouse fall in the last one...

squirl033 · Nov 8, 2016

Dean_Gretsch said:
Nice action shots! I bet that was a thrill to see.

Definitely fun to watch, even through the viewfinder!

bulldurham said:
Don't you just hate it when this kind of action is taking place and either you don't have the right lens, are too far way or the weather forces hair-raising grain because you have to jack the ISO through the roof...Nature can really be quite adversarial at times - But, still fun to watch.

LOL! Yeah, you got that right! Nature photography is great for teaching you to take what you can get!