After a good night's sleep, there's nothing better than being up with the lark. Especially when that's exactly what you see 😉 I'd in fact gone in search of kestrels, but for once they had to take second place.
Skylark's have a wonderful flight pattern. They rise almost vertically, singing their little heads off, hover high above the grasslands and then slowly descend almost to the point from where they took off. The sound of their song only ceases when they reach the ground.
The sun lasted until lunchtime, and only briefly reappeared during the afternoon which is when I saw this counterpart to the post earlier in the week which included the lesser black-backed gull. This is the much more coastal version, the Great black-backed gull. The wings are a much deeper black, and (for identification) the legs are flesh coloured, not yellow. It was flying along the cliffs which are the current haunt of numerous fulmars.
Great black-backed gull
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
11 Comments
The skylarks are plentiful in that area. As to getting a shot of them it depends where they happen to come down (or go up). If I walk off the paths they emerge in number from the long grass so some sort of shot is usually possible. But today was good.
LOL, I was outside at 7am this morning but didn't see any larks!
Beautiful photos (especially the last one) of what is usually a very hard species to capture. Great :up: And the gull is nice too. The greater black backs are big birds :eyes:
Ah that just rubs salt into the wound. Yesterday, I was within a few metres of a skylark on the ground, that I lost while tracking it in flight with the camera before, and had landed in front of me, but I didnt see it until I spooked it. Oh well plenty more to see this year I hope!
Great photos words.
Im guessing that great BB gull is looking for some tasty fulmar eggs/chicks!
😎 A successful outing!
Beautiful photo of a gull 🙂
Beautiful photos. 😀 It was sunny until around when the annual Bognor Clown Parade started then it rained and the sun came out just as they finished….. typical! 😆
Nice nearly full Moon though, when i get up to date on my blog i will try and do a phase sequence of the Moon on my blog as i have been taking photos of it each evening when it was clear. 🙂
Mark, yes the weather is being its usual crazy self at the moment so its a matter of grabbing the good moments when you can. I'll look forward to seeing your moon sequence. Really nice idea!
Neil, I constantly spook the skylarks. They're almost impossible to spot on the ground. Not sure if the gull is looking for eggs. I would think the fulmars are fairly good at defending their pitch, but you never know.
Vulpes, thanks!
It must be great to wake up with the skylarks 🙂 I like the pictures with birds in the air, both the skylark and the gull :up:
Thanks Anna! The mornings are much better than the afternoons at the moment.