Merlin flying with the remains of a small shorebird, possibly a White-rumped Sandpiper, photographed by Christopher Dodds with a Sony a9 III and 600mm f/4 lens with 1.4X teleconverter at 840mm. — **Merlin Carrying Prey in Flight** (Falco columbarius, Faucon émerillon, Esmerejón, MERL) from my Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop , Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 Mark III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens and Sony 1.4X Teleconverter @840 mm. ISO 20,000, f/5.6 @ 1/5,000s, manual exposure. Full-frame image.

Expect the Unexpected: A Merlin Flies By With Prey

Christopher Dodds August 20, 2026

We had been photographing Atlantic Puffins returning with fish since before sunrise when a different flight pattern caught my eye. Seconds later, a Merlin streaked past carrying what appears to be the back half of a White-rumped Sandpiper.

Atlantic Puffin flying with a bill full of fish photographed at close range in fog on Île aux Perroquets, Quebec, by Christopher Dodds. — **Atlantic Puffin with bill full of fish at 20,000 ISO — Île aux Perroquets, Québec** (*Fratercula arctica,* Macareux moine, Frailecillo atlántico, ATPU) from my Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop , Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a9 Mark III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens @ 600 mm. ISO 20,000, f/4 @ 1/5,000s, manual exposure. Full-frame image top to bottom; cropped left and right to 4 x 5 aspect ratio.

Atlantic Puffin at ISO 20,000: Full Frame in the Fog

Christopher Dodds August 18, 2026

A foggy morning on Île aux Perroquets produced an unforgettable close encounter with an Atlantic Puffin carrying a bill full of fish. Photographed full frame at 600mm, 1/5,000 second and ISO 20,000, it's also a perfect example of why I don't fear high ISO when photographing birds in flight.