US Gulf Coast Birds

Well my birding trip to the gulf coast was a bit spotty. Had bad weather most of the time that we weren't tied up with family business. In spite of that I did manage to get a few shots of some new(for me) species. Though I grew up in the southern US I wasn't yet into photography so have few images of southern birds.

Managed to shoot a few brown pelicans, American oyster catchers, and an osprey. We saw dozens of osprey but only one with camera in hand. It is an overhead shot which I'm not fond of but it was fishing and not just a passing shot so I'm counting it :)

I edited these on an uncalibrated laptop so they may be a bit off. I set WB in LR by conditions that existed at time of shooting.

As always recommend viewing in the light box.

All shot with D7100 and Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm

1) Brown Pelican; shot under horrific conditions. I've got more shot on a better day(including the requisite pelican on a piling). I'll post a couple when I get some time.

http://www.northernfocusphotography....59142156-6.jpg

2) American Oyster Catcher

http://www.northernfocusphotography....37958972-6.jpg

3) Osprey

http://www.northernfocusphotography....86500305-6.jpg

It must have been especially rewarding for you to photograph species that are new to your portfolio.

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Originally Posted by NorthernFocus

We saw dozens of osprey but only one with camera in hand.

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I'm really surprised about that. I'm not a birder but it's common knowledge that ospreys almost always carry a camera.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike Buckley

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I'm really surprised about that. I'm not a birder but it's common knowledge that ospreys almost always carry a camera.

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that's true but few of them have hands :D

Good set, Dan, but I particularly like the first. I love to watch the pelicans gliding over the ocean, just lifting a bit when necessary to avoid a wave but otherwise unperturbed by the rise and fall of the swell.

Thanks, Greg. Yes I love to see pelicans skimming across the surface. I was hoping to catch a string of them doing so but it was not to be. I took this shot in 50kph winds after two days of fog and rain. I've got more shots taken in better conditions but they were flying over flat water rather than the surf.

Nice set of photos! Sorry you didn't have better weather.

Nice series.

Looks like enough birds for some fun! The first image is cool, the Oyster catcher is nice too. The Osprey is better than my best Osprey, so I wont disqualify it!

Really like the first one. The way you've so perfectly caught the wave behind the bird really lifts it plus it's so colourful compared to our exclusively black & white pelicans.
We have oyster catchers very similar to yours but once again ours are black or black & white without that lighter colour on their backs.
Nice shots.

Simply awesome..... :)

I like them all but the brown pelican flying over the wave is outstanding to me. Very well done!

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Glad you enjoyed the photos. I have another frame of the bird over the surf just as the wave starts breaking but this one was a tad sharper. I'll see if I can clean the other one up enough to make it worth sharing.

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Originally Posted by GBO25

...We have oyster catchers very similar to yours...

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Graham I've got a few shots of an Australian Oyster Catcher. When I get some time I'll put up another post dedicated to oyster catchers. I now have photos of four varieties taken in NZ(two types), OZ, and the most recent in this post. Ironically I don't yet have any photos of black oyster catchers that we get here in Alaska.

Nice work on all of them, Dan. I've never seen a pelican when I had my camera or American Oyster Catcher. I hope when I do that mine are as great as yours. My osprey attempts are not worth mentioning:( I'm really drawn to the pelican shot. It's so good and you say the conditions were so bad.... Please post more from the trip!

Love the first one. What a face!

Out of the dozen osprey around ... were you able to get the one with the camera on hand...? I was laughing my head off at your statement, but early bird gets the best comment which Mike beat me to anyway...

All of these shots were well taken...I particularly like the first one even if I would have preferred to see the aerodynamic positioning of its feet...and the second one's catchlight on its eye is equally interesting to say the least... and the third one is almost perfect even if it does not have the obligatory camera you were talking about...:D

I like them all but #3 is special for me. I like the posture very much , the tones and details in the wings are super :)