By the sea

By Words | Published April 12, 2009

I refuse to be defeated by the weather. Grey, overcast and damp. But there's always light by the coast 😉 And I was keen to give the new lens a more rigorous workout. To begin, a long distance shot of fulmars at sea (to prove that they are indeed sea birds). They seem just as prone to squabbling on the water as they are in their cliff nests. The shot is a fairly hefty crop.

fulmarFulmars out at sea

To make up for that being taken from an absurd distance (they were barely visible from the shore), here's a rather different view of one as it flew in overhead.

fulmarFulmar with close up view of its 'tube nose'.

But for once it was the gulls that kept my attention.

They were posing.

gullsThe Three Muses

gullsHerring gull (semi mature juvenile)

And they were flocking.

gulls in flightA flock of gulls

The 'spotting' highlight was a fly past by a group of oystercatchers as they skimmed the shoreline looking for a quiet spot to come in to feed (the tide was just going out). They seem to have designated one of their number as 'food carrier' 😉

oystercatchersOystercatchers skimming the coast

There are several more shots from today in the April Birds album.
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Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

This entry was posted in water birds and tagged , , .

20 Comments

  1. Dudley April 12, 2009 at 3:04 am #

    You got some excellent shots there :up:
    I particularly like: Fulmar with close up view, Herring gull (semi mature juvenile) and the Oystercatchers. The bottom left Oystercatcher appears to have a clam.

  2. AgnetaM April 12, 2009 at 4:04 am #

    Very nice pictures of the birds!Exelent!:yes:

  3. gdare April 12, 2009 at 6:04 am #

    It seems you made a photo of a same family of fulmars, they are yelling at each other again :whistle:
    😆

  4. Flying Red Fox Blog April 12, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Lovelly photos. 😀 I think you definatly beat the weather there! :yes:

  5. Vulpes vulpes April 12, 2009 at 11:04 am #

    Lovely shots! :up:

  6. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Thanks Andy!

  7. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Thanks Erwin!

  8. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Thanks Agneta!

  9. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Mark, thanks. I think the weather may win this week though 🙁

  10. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Darko, they do seem to argue a lot 😉

  11. Words April 13, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    Thanks Vulpes!

  12. SittingFox April 13, 2009 at 9:04 am #

    The trio of gulls made me laugh. They look like they're seizing someone up to see if their possession are worth stealing :bandit:

  13. Ukwildlife April 13, 2009 at 11:04 am #

    great set of photos – especially the fumar close up and oystercatchers 🙂

  14. Words April 13, 2009 at 10:04 pm #

    Neil, thanks. I'm still working on some from today but think I have several that knock that oystercatcher shot out of sight. They're still downloading at the moment, so I haven't had more than a quick initial look.

  15. Words April 13, 2009 at 10:04 pm #

    Adele, I loved those three. They stood out from the (large) crowd.

  16. annoushkiss April 14, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

    Wonderful, just wonderful series!!! I like all the pictures but the "three muses" just captured my heart :heart: ! Great shot!

  17. Words April 14, 2009 at 11:04 pm #

    Thanks! It was a good day 🙂

  18. cakkleberrylane April 17, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

    Excellent shots! You've captured the wings in every different stage of flight in the last one.

  19. Words April 17, 2009 at 11:04 pm #

    Thanks Lois! The oystercatchers are such great birds to watch.

  20. Wulpen October 19, 2012 at 8:10 pm #

    Nice shots