I love the way this shot is both dramatic and yet sweet due to the lighting and the subject.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 1600
Canon 5DSR, Canon 200-400mm L IS USM EXT
I was super lucky to have a quick, late afternoon visit to Werribee’s Western Treatment Plant on the way home from visiting lakes in regional Victoria. It was great to share the trip with a fabulous young companion with an impressive knowledge of birds.
Pied Stilts are supremely graceful with long, graceful legs and a long pointed bill (don’t miss the tiny highlight on the tip of its bill). Their black and white colouring is distinctive and makes them easy to identify. This is a fairly young bird as its head still shows a smudge of grey feathers. The only similar species in the area is the less commonly seen Banded Stilt.
Pied Stilt feed on aquatic insects as they gracefully wade through shallow water. The small flurry of bubbles behind its raised foot give an idea of its movement.
I spent a ridiculously long time trying to remove a smudge of white from this image before sharing it. I tried everything I could think of, with no luck. Until, this is so embarrassing, I realised the smudge was from a scratch on my specs and wasn’t on the image at all. One day I’ll hopefully get used to these glasses!
Happy birding, Kim
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This photo is sensational Kim!!
Thanks Tess! 🙂
Aww he is a fabulous young companion 😊 great shot
Awww I didn’t expect you or him to see this! A truly fabulous companion, awesome, interesting company – as he always is.
A beautiful capture! Such a sweet bird. We found a banded stilt with wing hanging in half during the duck season one year. So sad.
Oh no! But why do I feel one speck surprised. The horror of the duck shooting season never fails to shock and sicken…
Great light!
Thanks Stephen! There’s always something beaut to see at the WTP, even though the ducks have disappeared, which is pretty devastating.
Dramatic, beautiful and precious. Thank you.
And I hear you on the smudged glasses front. How do they get so filthy?
Thanks EC. My specs do get surprising mucky but the light aberration was from a kind of graze from when I must have dropped them, sigh.
PS I’ve just updated the post to make that a bit clearer, thank you!