Eastern Marsh-Harrier in flight

This medium sized, migratory raptor (wing span - 1.22 meters) is often seen flying low over the ground, searching intently for prey such as small mammals, frogs and birds. With its eyes fixed on ground targets most of the time when in flight, it is tough to photograph with a nice eye contact.

 

I had the good fortune of catching this individual in mid-bank, with the sun behind me, on New Year's Day way back in 2008. I got the much coveted eye-contact, and captured a lot of detail in the underparts. The 1D MII's 8 fps allowed me to shoot a long burst (all frames in good focus), and then  to choose which frame has the most photogenic wing position.

 

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Eastern Marsh-Harrier (Circus spilonotus, migrant, sub-adult male)

Habitat - Uncommon, primarily in wetlands and grasslands.

 

Shooting info - Candaba wetlands, Pampanga, January 1, 2008, Canon 1D MII + EF 500 f4 IS + EF 1.4x TC II,
700 mm, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1600 sec, manual exposure in available light, 475B/3421 support, major crop.