Striated Caracara: Steeple Jason Island, Falklands

Canon 7D, 17-40f4L @ 40mm, 1/400th sec/ f10, ISO 200, handheld while laying on the ground

Steeple Jason Island, as well as being home to the largest colony of seabirds in the western hemisphere, is also home to numerous pairs of Striated Caracaras. These birds are exceedingly bold. Living on islands as they do, without any predators, they are accustomed to being the top of the food chain. They are quite unwilling to allow something as inconsequential as humans to change that. Striated Caracaras are scavengers for the most part, but also prey upon penguin and other seabird chicks when the opportunity arises. It is their scavenger nature that makes them most interesting from a photographic perspective. Let me tell you the story:

This bird, and two others, were scratching around in the dirt and heather, taking occasional dust-baths when I and a group of clients walked up. Now tourism etiquette in the southern ocean requires that we don't approach an animal closer than 15 feet. Of course the animals themselves are under no such restrictions and are perfectly allowed to approach you. When I saw these birds, I laid down on the ground to snap a few low-angle portraits with my 500mm. I didn't get to snap a shot, because as soon as I laid down this bird looked at me and bounded straight over. There I was, on my stomach, with a large, endangered, and highly photogenic raptor about a foot away, with a 500mm lens on my camera. It couldn't have been more worthless for the situation. So I decided to just enjoy the moment and watch. The Caracara hopped about, I slowly sat up, it came over and eyed my foot, wondering surely if I was yet dead enough to eat. Eventually, I could take it no longer and slowly removed my camera backpack, unzipped it and pulled out the 17-40. Every movement I made the bird became less sure I was about to die. I was certain that before I managed to get the lens on the camera that the caracara would decide I was too alive to consume and fly off, it's head down in disappointment.

Gratefully, my slow and occasionally jerky movements perhaps resembled death throes and I was able to get the lens on while not losing the bird's interest. I snapped a few from a sitting position before lowering myself again to the ground for this low angle, wide perspective of the Caracara on the rock with the mountains of Steeple Jason in the background.

I managed to snap off a few shots before the poor bird realized that this clicking, breathing, and occasionally brightly-flashing human was not, in fact, food. Finally it did arrive at the truth and flew off to look for something a bit closer to death.

Sorry to disappoint.

The Southern Ocean: Steeple Jason Island, Falklands

Canon 7D, 500mm f4L, handheld from the deck of the ship, 1/1250 sec, f8, ISO 200

OK, Alright, I know, I know. It's been awhile since I posted. But I've got an excuse that pardons me at least for most of January. I've been away from the computer for a bit, on a ship, cruising around the Southern Ocean. But, now that I'm back, my hiatus ends here, with this image of Steeple Jason Island, in the Falklands.

(Quick background for new readers or those who don't remember back a few posts when I alluded to this trip: For about month from late Dec to late Jan, I was working as a naturalist/photo guide on a Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris trip to the Southern Ocean. I was one of 14 expedition staff.)

I think I've been putting off posting, despite being back for a week, because I hardly know where to begin. My head is still spinning from the trip, though now more like a wobbling top, than the centrifuge it was a few day ago. My thoughts, and my images from the trip are starting to come together, and I'm ready to start posting...I think.

I wanted to present a written narrative to the trip, but really there was just too much. Images, for the most part, will have to play that roll. (Eventually, the log I wrote for Cheesemans' will be posted on their website and I'll link to it in a future post.)

For the next few entries I'll be featuring shots from the Falkland Islands. We spent three remarkable days exploring the archipelago. It is a wonderful place, full of rugged islands, remote beaches, and seabird colonies. Steeple Jason Island, where this image was made is by far my favorite of our stops, and perhaps one of my favorite places of the trip. 115,000 pairs of Black-browed Albatross nest on the island making it the largest seabird colony in the western hemisphere. It is a landscape of birds.

The image here was made from the deck of the Polar Star, our ship. The sun was just up, the sea haze was defining the ribs of rock on the shoreline, and Black-browed Albatross by the hundreds or thousands were patrolling the sky and water surrounding the island. For a few minutes it was magical. Then the sun rose a bit more, burnt off the sea haze, and the moment was over.

Luckily, the day was just beginning. More on that in the next post.