In the past couple of weeks, I've been fortunate enough to capture several of my favorite birds doing what they were meant to do.....fly. The first is a Barn owl which has been my "nemesis bird" for many years. Not only had I not photographed one in the wild (I had decent shots of captive birds in flight), but I need this bird for a lifer! Fortunately, while out on a trip with fellow birders from the one of the local Audubon clubs, I was able to grab a few frames of this beautiful owl as it exited an old building on the grounds of the Lake Apopka Preserve here in Florida. The light was subdued, but I was able to shoot at 1/1000 of a second with the shutter wide open. The auto ISO set itself all the way up to 1600, and yet there is remarkably little "noise" even though the image was cropped and enlarged. Have to love the new technology!
My next favorite shot of the past two weeks was taken along a gravel road through Shiloh Road on the property of Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. I had been searching for the American avocets we had previously seen while birding this venue. It was getting later in the day, so the light was at my back with the waters of the marsh in front of me. No sooner had I found a flock of around two dozen birds of the desired species along with a good number of Blue-winged teal, then the entire group exploded into flight. I looked for and quickly found the reason for their quick departure. A young Bald eagle had flown overhead, putting the fear of the bird God in their hearts. I quickly got on two of the birds and fired away. With much better light, I was able to shoot at 1/1000 of a second with a much preferred low ISO of 160. The aperture was a bit smaller, affording me more depth of field so that both bird heads were in sharp focus.
I still had time to back off on the zoom to capture not only the avocets but also the beautiful Blue-winged teals flashing their brilliant blue upper wing coverts. It's not often you get the opportunity to capture striking images of two gorgeous birds in the same frame. Just have to be in the right place at the right time.
One of the great advantages of capturing birds in flight is that no only is the subject so much more interesting and dynamic, but also you are often afforded a better look at often latent patterning hidden when the subject is at rest. The next image is an example of the case in point. This shot was also taken on the same day at the same location as the previous ones. The subject is a Bonaparte's gull, a species which has made a sudden incursion into the area. In the shot of the bird shown here, the patterning on the wings, not normally seen at rest, is obvious.
While the weather has not cooperated over the past week or so, the forecast is for brighter skies and warmer temperatures here in Central Florida. Stay tuned and I'll bring you the latest updates on our newest quest.
