Flying harrier

This is a big week for lirralirra – it’s 5 years since my first post and definitely a good time to share one of my favourite images.

 

Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans)
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 800

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I’ve always admired in-flight shots of Swamp Harriers and hoped to one day capture an image I was happy with. That time finally came when this magnificent bird flew towards me in golden light at the end of a long day.

Harriers often fly fairly low across grasslands and wetlands as they use both sight and hearing to help locate prey. I find their warm colouring very attractive. They have long, yellow legs which can be seen in the image, along with fierce looking talons that make short work of small mammals and birds (that aren’t in flight). Swamp Harriers can often be readily identified at some distance due to their white rump and the way they soar with uplifted wings.

When I started lirralirra I knew no other bird photographers, and precious few photographers of any kind, but I was desperate to learn. I thought that the discipline of committing to a new post each Friday would ensure I kept striving to improve. As a stand-alone website, rather than an Instagram or Tumblr-type format, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be found among the millions of pages out there but somehow, magically, readers appeared from 3235 cities in 153 countries across the world. My analytics program shows that well over 100,000 visits have been made to the site and thankfully they weren’t all accidental.

I’d like to let all readers know that your visits, kind comments and ‘likes’ have been a great encouragement to me – you are all part of this journey. My challenge for the coming year is to combine my love of ethical bird photography and my teaching background to create workshops that will hopefully inspire others to follow their dreams and honour our beautiful birdlife.

Happy birding

Kim

 

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