Back to birds for this post, so here is a Long-tailed Skua.
This was taken in northern Norway, well inside the Arctic circle. This was the first time that I had seen this species and I was pleased to be able to see the impressive tail but then on second glance I noticed its webbed feet. I hadn’t really thought about Skuas feet before, but with the conditions underfoot and the time spent at sea, webbed feet seem like a good choice for this bird.
It has been a while since I shared any of my horse images, so here is another from the collection.
Taken in the Camargue region of Southern France these beautiful horses are a delight to photograph. I decided to sit in the shallow waters to achieve this particular view point . Sitting also enabled me to support the camera safely and made myself smaller and a little less obvious to the horses. Whilst out in the shallow waters the flies were no where to be seen but as soon as I went back on dry land the flies just would not leave me alone. One of the many hazards associated with outdoor photography.
Generally speaking, bird in flight photography is very challenging as so many birds are relatively small and fast moving. Small and fast in the viewfinder of a camera makes it very difficult to track the subject and even harder to get it in focus. Herons on the other hand are quite large birds and fairly slow moving, especially when they are coming in to land. That makes them a great subject to practice your tracking and focussing skills.
At this time of the year, Herons are building their nests in preparation for the breeding season ahead. They make repeated journeys to and from the nest site with nesting material, giving a lot of opportunities to get a sharp image of this otherwise relatively shy bird.
