Almost Extinct ....

Gallery: AvianPosted January 7, 20126,256 views15 comments

The last weeks my wife and I spent cycling around the Moroccan mountains and deserts. While doing so we saw many new birds. Among them was this Northern Bald Ibis, with some estimated 350 birds left in the world, almost extinct. The only wild bird nowadays live around Agadir, at the Atlantic Coast of Morocco. We found two groups of them: one some 60km South of Agadir, and the other some 40km North. This one is of the latter.

Taken with my bicycle combo: Nikon D300 + Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 icw 2x converter | 1/800s | f7/1 | ISO 250 | underexposed 1/3EV

And: happy New Year to all on NPN!

For some impressions of our trip check www.hansoverduin.nl/blog/

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on January 7, 2012 at 10:41 AM

Great shot! He is very interesting looking for sure!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on January 7, 2012 at 11:15 AM

Very cool shot Hans. I like the focus on the head above the oof foreground. A keeper for sure. Well done for getting the shot.

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on January 7, 2012 at 11:17 AM

Congratulations on finding such a rare bird Hans. Nice work.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on January 7, 2012 at 12:28 PM

Not the best light or setting but I would say the rarity of this bird makes the shot extra special!! I hope the Moroccans are taking steps to preserve the remaining birds and the habitat.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 7, 2012 at 2:26 PM

cool bird, Hans. I actually like the setting and the way the head emerges from the vegetation. I might add a bit of sharpening.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on January 7, 2012 at 3:34 PM

Congrats on getting such a rare subject! I like how the head emerges from the vegetation. I agree it may need a little more sharpening.

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on January 7, 2012 at 3:41 PM

Thanks all for commenting. Will check upon the sharpening and or upload, since the RAW file seems sharp enough to me - thanks for alerting me on this ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 7, 2012 at 4:30 PM

Awesome image Hans. Love the habitat and look at the bird. Hold tight to this image as it may be very valuable some day; sorry to say.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 7, 2012 at 7:30 PM

Amazing to get such a rare bird in your viewfinder - a special image in that regard. I agree that it could use a bit of sharpening.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 7, 2012 at 8:06 PM

Excellent job on this Hans, congratulations on getting a shot of this rare bird in the wild.
Your hard work has paid off with a fine image IMO.
Well done!!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 8, 2012 at 10:09 PM

Sounds like a very interesting trip and what a wonderful find, sad to hear there are only 350 of them left. The larger image shows nice bird detail and maybe just a little bit of sharping to the bird but excellent job getting this rare bird, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on January 8, 2012 at 11:19 PM

Marvelous capture Hans and thanks for sharing such a unique subject. Happy to see you back and very much looking forward to seeing more of the collection you surely returned from Morocco with soon. Wishing you and your other half a wonderful year ahead :^)

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

Comment posted by May Haga on January 9, 2012 at 6:07 PM

Cool image Hans. Sounds like an amazing trip and even better when you capture a rarity like this.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on January 10, 2012 at 4:04 AM

Fabulous habitat shot Hans, what a great capture. And I like your shooting methods-sure to keep everyone happy!

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on January 10, 2012 at 5:44 AM

Thanks all for looking and commenting ! Taking away the magic a little however: these birds are as written almost extinct, but the two groups are not that difficult to find, that is: they are not always in one spot, so one has to be just a little lucky in finding them. The 'southern group' I saw from a distance for 30 seconds when the whole group flew away and was not found again that day. The 'northern group' was on a hill foraging when I found them and stayed there, so I could take my time to frame them.. Anyway, the Morrocans have protected the breeding sites, so during breeding seasons they are more difficult to see, since these areas are off limits to humans (luckily). So for those wishing to see them, I guess the non-breeding season is best, since they are in other areas then where one is allowed to go...

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments