Iceland Trip - Black-tailed Godwits

Another of the waders that was on the list to be photographed in Iceland was the Black-tailed Godwit. Looking very smart in their summer colours. We do get some in the UK that are practically in breeding plumage, but I haven't seen any as stunning as these. They weren't as approachable as we were led to believe and most were hard work to get near. Nevertheless we came home with some good shots.

 

Leighton Moss Waders

Back in September I spent a couple of mornings at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve in Lancashire. The target was waders and hopefully some nice reflective shots. Of course things never really go to plan and with a breeze picking up on the first visit, the perfect mirror reflection was never going to happen. On the second visit the levels were so low that there was more mud than water. Still, a few good shots were taken and here's a selection.

Black-tailed Godwit

Greenshank

Great White Egret

Greenshank

Greenshank

Spotted Redshank

Dunlin

Little Egret

My Favourite Images

I thought I would do a series of posts from time to time to showcase some of my favourite images taken over the years.

Alpine Swift
A rare bird in the UK, this one turned up locally in 2006. As with all fast flying small birds it was hard work, so I was very pleased with this shot.

Common Buzzard
I caught sight of this flying bird whilst driving. Quickly stopping the car I just managed to catch it banking round in the perfect low winter sunlight.

Bittern
I Have spent hundreds of hours trying to photograph the elusive Bittern without achieving any decent results. I struck lucky on this day with three flying around, giving some spectacular views and photo opportunities.

Arctic Tern
Anyone who has visited the Farne Islands in Northumberland will be familiar with sights similar to this image. I like this one because of the darker, cloudy background which makes the bird stand out.

Black-tailed Godwit
Its always nice to get a good reflected image. It can take some time though, especially of a stationary subject as birds don't tend to stand still for long.

Barn Owl
This was taken on the local marsh  where the bird was catching small mammals for it's young. Due to the light direction I went for a silhouette type shot which worked well with the setting sun.

Black-tailed Godwits

No two sessions photographing the local Black-tailed Godwits are ever the same, whether they are busy feeding or fighting and bickering with each other, their plumages also vary greatly from drab grey-brown to orange, depending on the time of year, so each visit will produce something different.

I spent an afternoon in August photographing them and here are some of the results.

In Flight

A quick post of some flight shots I have taken over the last month.

Common Buzzard
Black-tailed Godwit

Cormorant

Tufted Duck

Sandwich Tern

Lapwing