Ah, yes, one can only admire the patience and fortitude of those bird photographers who use ‘advanced,’ heavy equipment like tripods and gimbals. BirdingPI.com staff members, OTOH, are typically hiking/on foot, and thereby mostly go au naturel, meaning, in this context, handheld photography. Like these long-distance but extremely fascinating shots from yesterday off Beach 11 at Presque Isle State Park:
Suddenly, the Merlin took to wing, swooping in to capture a Monarch in flight:
Merlins are known for capturing small birds and insects in flight, but Monarch butterflies are mildly poisonous = not commonly eaten except for a couple of species (e.g., Black-headed Grosbeaks and Black-backed Orioles) resistant to its toxins.
After flying with its prey for a few seconds, the Merlin realized its mistake and released the butterfly, which, surprisingly, seemed unharmed and flew away:
Slow day yesterday at the park, but great to see this fascinating behavior.
Fabulous sequence of photos! Nice that the Monarch got away… and rather surprising, too! Goes to show that animals know what food is good for them!
Seems like the Merlin realized its mistake – perhaps there was a nibble – and then let the butterfly go, which seemed overall uninjured. (Although hard to tell for sure.) A lucky sighting!