Mortality

Most days watching nature is a wonderful affirmation of life, but today brought out the other side of the coin. These first two shots were taken a few minutes apart, early this morning.

The first is a juvenile green woodpecker. It was beneath a building and I suspect a window collision as the cause, though there were no visible signs on the building above.

Just a hundred yards away I came across a second fatality, possibly the result of a fall (it was beneath a tree).

Lunchtime I went in search of more pleasant things, and thought I 'd succeeded with this thrush.

The thrush was quietly feeding along a country lane, but a few seconds after this shot it hopped over the hedgerow into a sunlit field. I stepped across to take a better shot, but before I could even raise the camera a sparrowhawk had dropped from an overhanging tree and with the merest flurry of feather and two muted squeals, it was gone (and so was the thush). It lasted less than 2 seconds from start to finish.

Finally, I'm still working on stereoscopic images. They will improve as I get more practice, and I will almost certainly go cross-eyed in the process. But today's effort is I think an improvement on the butterfly (at least I intended to take this). As before, focus in front of the image (click to enlarge it) and the hedge should pop out into 3 dimensions. It can take a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of seeing them it's quite easy.

3D imageclick to enlarge
Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Tags: , , , ,

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. gdare

    30 Jun 2009

    Oh my…. Circle of life is more obvious among wildlife . So is the chain of feeding (if this is correct expression).

  2. Words

    30 Jun 2009

    Darko, 'food chain' is the phrase you're looking for, and yes it can be quite tough. Of course I'm sure the slugs weren't too happy with the thrush either

  3. Words

    30 Jun 2009

    Yes, it was a shame. I can't think of any other reason for it being where I found it, and I think it's nest is in a tree just the other side of the building. It's possible it tangled with the gulls who have chicks up on the roof.

  4. SittingFox

    30 Jun 2009

    Sad to see the woodpecker 🙁 Not at species that hits windows that often.

  5. studio41

    1 Jul 2009

    sad to see the accident/tragic end to the woodpecker… the colour is beautiful, though

  6. Words

    1 Jul 2009

    Jill, they're among my favourite birds but I'd be happy not to be able to get this close again.

Comments are closed.

Close Menu