Impaled Prey
The Toss
Head First Catch
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image was taken at a state park near my home during January of 2021. I remember going to the park early in the morning with a plan to try and photograph some ring necked ducks that I had seen the morning before. I did get to photograph the ducks, but on a dead tree on the far bank I saw an anhinga glide into the water and proceed to dive. My first image is a very typical pose of an anhinga drying his wings.
The anhinga is a bird that inhabits the warm southern waters of the US. It exhibits several unusual behaviors. For example, when swimming, only their heads and long necks are above the water as the lack of oils in their feathers cause their bodies to have less buoyancy than other water birds. This behavior has earned them the nickname ‘snake bird.’ Their hunting behavior is also unusual as they spear their prey underwater with their dagger-like bills, image 2. This method presents them with a challenge, however; once the fish is impaled, how does the bird transfer it into its mouth for swallowing? To do this the anhinga flips the fish off its bill into the air, image 3, and catches it again. Amazingly, at least this time as shown in the image, he catches it with the head first going into his throat, image 4. Swallowing the fish head first is critical since this prevents the spines in the dorsal fin from catching in the bird’s throat.
Specific Feedback
I would be very interested in any suggestions regarding the way these images were cropped and processed.
Technical Details
Canon R5 on tripod, Canon 600mm EF L f4.0 lens, Canon 1.4 extender, manual mode
Image 1: ISO 250, 840 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250sec
Images 2,3,4: ISO 3200, 840mm, f/5.6, 1/5000sec
Images were process in PS and Topaz for noise reduction and sharpening