NSFW Duckling Feast (Heron)

FourRingCircus

FourRingCircus

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John
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Yes
Nature can seem very cruel at times..... Four little Mallard ducklings were picked-off for lunch by a greedy Heron.

Seen here just minutes before the main event:

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Even diving under the water, they couldn't get away.

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One wasn't enough....

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Any last requests?

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Down in one!

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Just a (webbed) foot to go!

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Constructive critique welcome.
 
Ravenous eaters and probably with growing chicks to feed ... if it were fish we wouldn't blink but soft & cuddly :eek:
 
Great action shots John. Them bloody Herons are destructive, greedy buggers.
 
Great sequence of shots John lots of action and plenty of detail in all its glory (gory).

Gotta say I didn't realise Herons were such predators of other birds

Did you say he got all four, greedy buggar

Steve
 
Yes Steve, all four were gone within the lunch hour. Must admit to a bit of self-satisfaction with #4. The uncropped shot is basically the whole Heron, but it wasn't dramatic enough as you couldn't see the expression on the ducklings face properly. Normally I just photograph birds from a birders perspective. This one is much more powerful / evocative than I can normally manage. As with all my photography, everything I do is right place, right time, right equipment and a good bit of luck. This time, it all came in spades.:D
 
Do Grey Herons have any natural predators …….. they are a hell of a lot of them about all over Europe, Africa and Asia?
 
BillN_33 said:
Do Grey Herons have any natural predators …….. they are a hell of a lot of them about all over Europe, Africa and Asia?
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Yes,dick heads with guns and crossbows.



I twitched a local Little auk years ago that had been blown onto a lake,walking down to the lakeside we met a friend who told us he had just watched the auk being eaten by a heron.
 
If I was being picky I'd say 1 and 2 are a too dark, but the whole lot are great, and the action in number 2 is excellent. Numbers 3 and 4 are particularly good. Somewhere fairly close there is something which looks like a feathered Gremlin that is going to happy that Mum or Dad had a good lunch hour.

I don't think herons don't have any natural predators. Gulls, and on the coast in the north, great skuas will sometimes have a go at them (though I think almost anything alive is fair game from a great skua's point of view) but I don't think the impact of either is large. Think I have read that in medieval times, eagles were flown at herons.

Dave
 
I suppose in Africa and the remote parts of Asia they have quite a few, an ape or Monkey , wild dog or big Raptor would have a go, but would they get past that spear of a beak? - but in the UK and Europe, maybe none
 
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well at least he's not taking the koi from my pond!!!! nice shots well caught ;)
 
Thabnks for the comments folks. I reckon #4 is one of my best ever shots but I doubt if National Geographic will be calling anytime soon!:coat:

The best thing about getting a decent shot is that it makes you realise how crap the normal fayre is. It's easier to improve when you already have a 'standard' to aim for. In this case, I may not be posting much for a while!:sulk:
 
Nice captures - right place right time right lens

Personally I like mine crispy with pancakes, shredded cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce.
 
Brilliant to watch nature being nature and to photograph it a massive bonus, fab set and 4 really is outstanding
 
Great sequence. #1 and #2 are too dark and I think the others could do with a touch of lightening also. Worth submitting to one of the wildlfe magazines?
 
No doubt I will get some crap for posting this but hey hum, its how I feel.

I think its pathetic that you felt the need to photograph nature of this kind and even more surprised that you have posted the pictures for the world to see what a small minded person you can be!
yes we know it happens but we do not need it ramming down our throats.

I also think it is pathetic that several members think they are good shots! they are terrible!

if anyone else had posted shots like these (of a less contentious subject) I feel sure that the inmates of the bird section would have ripped them to shreds.
IMO they are just underexposed, poorly framed and badly processed pictures of a questionable subject!
Rant over.

Story board presentation is OTT also.
 
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AHILL said:
No doubt I will get some crap for posting this but hey hum, its how I feel.

I think its pathetic that you felt the need to photograph nature of this kind and even more surprised that you have posted the pictures for the world to see what a small minded person you can be!
yes we know it happens but we do not need it ramming down our throats.

I also think it is pathetic that several members think they are good shots! they are terrible!

if anyone else had posted shots like these (of a less contentious subject) I feel sure that the inmates of the bird section would have ripped them to shreds.
IMO they are just underexposed, poorly framed and badly processed pictures of a questionable subject!
Rant over.

Story board presentation is OTT also.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, I couldn't, show these pics to my wife or grandkids, a bit too graphic.
 
I'd suggest that's why John put a NSFW tag on the Thread:rolleyes: You'll (and the wife and kids/grand kids) see worse on TV every day of the week.
 
AHILL said:
No doubt I will get some crap for posting this but hey hum, its how I feel.

I think its pathetic that you felt the need to photograph nature of this kind and even more surprised that you have posted the pictures for the world to see what a small minded person you can be!
yes we know it happens but we do not need it ramming down our throats.

I also think it is pathetic that several members think they are good shots! they are terrible!

if anyone else had posted shots like these (of a less contentious subject) I feel sure that the inmates of the bird section would have ripped them to shreds.
IMO they are just underexposed, poorly framed and badly processed pictures of a questionable subject!
Rant over.

Story board presentation is OTT also.
Click to expand...


Did someone mention "pathetic" :whistle:

I would keep no4 and forget the others (y)
 
Neil B said:
Did someone mention "pathetic" :whistle:

I would keep no4 and forget the others (y)
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Pathetic yeh.:rolleyes:

I'm sure John will agree they are not technically the best shots he has ever taken but as a sequential documentation of natural events they are fine and it's right and proper to show them on here.
 
AHILL said:
I think its pathetic that you felt the need to photograph nature of this kind and even more surprised that you have posted the pictures for the world to see what a small minded person you can be! yes we know it happens but we do not need it ramming down our throats.
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Andrew, I considered coming back with a smart-arse insulting answer but instead, I'm not going to stoop to your level. It appears that you would seem to consider the likes of David Attenborough to be small minded and pathetic (as his programs show far worse than this). I'm not comparing myself to Mr Attenborough, but you have a choice here and instead of switching off, you have viewed something which has been aptly described as NSFW and then done a Mary Whitehouse on it. When you point a finger calling someone small-minded and pathetic, have a look at how many of your fingers are pointing back at yourself.

As for knowing that it happens,...... I DIDN'T.o_O I'm sorry that I obviously don't have your encyclopaedic knowlwdge of Heron feeding habbits.

AHILL said:
I also think it is pathetic that several members think they are good shots! they are terrible!
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Pathetic? Have you woken up on a Sunday morning and decided to go all-out to insult the good people on this forum? Terrible? Feel free to critique as I welcome it, but please keep your comments to constructive photography elements.

AHILL said:
if anyone else had posted shots like these (of a less contentious subject) I feel sure that the inmates of the bird section would have ripped them to shreds. IMO they are just underexposed, poorly framed and badly processed pictures of a questionable subject!
Click to expand...
Anyone else? Are you suggesting I'm someone special on here, becasue I fail to see it myself? Most of what I've posted in the last couple of years has been 'fair' at best and all I've done is tried to learn and improve. I have no cult following or clique that I'm aware of, I can assure you.:confused:

lightshipman said:
I have to agree, I couldn't, show these pics to my wife or grandkids, a bit too graphic.
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Andrew, I never invited you to show them to anybody and I put a tag on them which should urge caution.:rolleyes:

Do you go to the nude photography section and complain in the same way?

These two comments above have really made me wonder today. I was chuiffed to bits to photograph something different. Something a bit more emotive than just a tit on a stick. Does this mean that an Osprey taking a fish is NSFW? How about a blackbird pulling a worm out of the ground? Or perhaps a feeding shot of a sparrowhawk or an owl with a mouse?

Good grieff.:rage:
 
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AHILL said:
No doubt I will get some crap for posting this but hey hum, its how I feel.

I think its pathetic that you felt the need to photograph nature of this kind and even more surprised that you have posted the pictures for the world to see what a small minded person you can be!
yes we know it happens but we do not need it ramming down our throats.

I also think it is pathetic that several members think they are good shots! they are terrible!

if anyone else had posted shots like these (of a less contentious subject) I feel sure that the inmates of the bird section would have ripped them to shreds.
IMO they are just underexposed, poorly framed and badly processed pictures of a questionable subject!
Rant over.

Story board presentation is OTT also.
Click to expand...

Watch any nature documentary and you'll see the same or worse. It is nature, and a large part of wildlife photography for a lot of people is capturing interesting or usually unseen natural events for others to see/enjoy/learn from. Yes there are many technically better shots of song birds perched on branches posted on here, but these are definitely good enough and the subject is an interesting event that not many will have seen before.

BillN_33 - I think the definition of a bird of prey is that it kills it's prey with feet/talons so you wouldn't call a heron one.
 
They could all be improved by lifting the exposure a touch, as it is they all look rather dark.

Subject matter is understandably harrowing for some, and I can sympathise with that having seen pictures one of these birds eating a bunny rabbit :eek:
 
Oh dear I spoke the truth and now I'm being ridiculed. what a joke!
 
AHILL said:
Oh dear I spoke the truth and now I'm being ridiculed. what a joke!
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stirring from where i'm sat, you got the joke bit right.
 
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First off, quit with the personal insults!
Second if you don't like this type of natural image being posted then stay out of the thread!
This ends now!
 
STAFF EDIT : This post has been removed
 
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Well I for one think its wonderful you posted these are there issues? Yeah the exposure on at least some is very off but it's an interesting insight into the harshness of nature, number 4 has so much desperation in it, it's almost a tear jerker :( poor little thing

I for one applaud you for photographing it and posting it, it's not like you couldn't make it any clearer from the title what the content of there thread would be, honestly I cannot stand the contingent that only expect to see the fluffy bunny or (Disney natural world) of nature...this is real life and it should be seen
 
OK. last bite.


Mod edit What part of this ends now didn't you understand?
 
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And still the insults continue........

As they have been removed,
So has your post.

FFS you lot just quit, or there will few people on holiday.

Go take some images or something!
 
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obviously they are all getting over watching last nights Eurovision final.

By the way I posted a couple of shots of a Heron killing and swallowing a large fish, (a young pike) - would the doubters still have the same reaction to this

Or indeed if a large raptor doing the same

It's just part of nature and really nothing compared with what we "humans" do

the first two are technically not up to John's usual standards

like "water off a ducks back" John
 
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