Wagtail

Gallery: AvianPosted November 3, 201191 views5 comments

A Wagtail, so it seems. A Black-backed Wagtail (?) shot in Seoul, Korea…however, the black stripe through its eyes and the gray back suggests a variant further north, like Russia, or north Africa. They do migrate to Africa, and wagtails do inhabit a very large range, so I guess anything is possible. Anyway, as usual, a correction is greatly appreciated in that this seems to be a particularly tricky bird to identify.

Shot in Seoul, Korea, along Anyangcheon (ahn-yahng-chon) river. I first spotted on a set of rocks where I've seen a few other birds, then followed them up stream where I finally got a few close shots such as this one with what would appear to be a dragonfly carcass.

Canon EOS 60D
Lens: Sigma DG 120-400mm 1:4.5-5.6 APO OS HSM
Focal Length: 400mm
f8
Shutter 1/1250
ISO400
HH
Cropped about 80%

Comments and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on November 4, 2011 at 12:04 PM

It's very interesting to see this bird and this action, Mark. The image does have some deficiencies though. For example, it seems to be dominated not by the bird but by the surroundings. That's difficult to satisfactorily repair here: you could try cropping some off the bottom to remove most of the OOF stuff in the foreground. A problem then is that the bird is already high in the frame and you'll end up with a very narrow "pano crop". Another point: it's tough to judge what is shadow and what is dragonfly. I think the light may have been difficult here. You needed this bird to turn it's head upwards a bit to give you a catchlight. Good try, Mark. Keep at it.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on November 4, 2011 at 1:05 PM

I think Steve has some good comments. But all said this is a nice bird to get an image of.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on November 5, 2011 at 3:35 PM

My guess is a White Wagtail, a bird of many, many races. It looks a lot like Motacilla alba ocularis, which is the variety/race we see most often in Western Alaska. The black line through the eye, dark grey (as opposed to black) mantle and absence of a white wingbar argue for the ID. But I've only seen a handful of these guys, so discount the ID accordingly. Korea would be the right winter range for that variety/race. Good documentary shot, showing most of the field marks.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on November 6, 2011 at 12:28 AM

Congratulations on getting a shot as sharp as this Mark, in my experience Wagtails are exceptionally difficult to completely freeze, as usually I come across them in riverbeds under a forest canopy where the ambient light is far from optimal and the little birds never seem to keep still for an instant!

Also like the added interest of the Dragonfly carcass and the Wagtail caught with it's beak open, thanks for sharing!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Deibert on November 6, 2011 at 2:09 AM

Thanks everyone for your comments and critique...some very helpful tips from Steve to help look closer at what I'm publishing - I'm always looking to improve.

Registered on September 30, 2011, 48 Posts, 125 Comments