Nesting Anhinga

Gallery: AvianPosted March 20, 2013268 views13 comments

Hey everyone! Thanks again to everyone who helped me get to Florida! I had a blast!! It was such an amazing experience, and I came back with lots of images I look forward to sharing with you. Here's the first installment into the avian gallery

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After my dad picked me up from the Summit (which I was not happy about) we headed out to Merrit Island. We stayed the night in a cozy little hotel and then woke up to go photograph the amazing bird life! My dad heard that Vierra Wetlands is a great place to go, so we headed out! I couldn't believe all the species of birds that were living there. I definitely checked a whole bunch off my list that day. Halfway through the drive we spotted several Anhingas nesting. We parked and got out to photograph the action. We noticed that one of the male Anhingas kept going to a particular spot to get branches for his mate. My dad and I decided to focus on him. It's a good thing we did! He had landed in the bush and was selecting his branch, all the sudden he stopped moving. He had a branch! I got everything ready to take the image, then he flew to the nest! I squeezed as much shots off as I could, and this one was definitely my favourite!

Thanks for lookin'!

Nikon D300
Nikkor 300mm f/4 ED with 1.4TC
ISO 640
1/1250sec @ f/6.3
exposure comp set to -0.7 to control highlights

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 20, 2013 at 7:47 PM

Really awesome capture here with wonderful colors balanced throughout the image and of course the action is sweet. Looks like you could have used a little more shutterspeed, but overall this is a real winner

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 20, 2013 at 8:00 PM

Beautiful, Jenaya. Great behavior and the pose is wonderful. Well done.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 21, 2013 at 6:36 AM

Really a great comp Jenaya. Love the branch the bird is carrying and the wonderful light.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on March 21, 2013 at 8:46 AM

Very nice flight shot. Nice wings down position. The stick adds a lot to the image for me.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 21, 2013 at 11:31 AM

Nice job of getting this flight shot. I like seeing the wing down to check out those feather patterns and nice contrast with the background, well done. Sounds like a great trip.

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 21, 2013 at 9:47 PM

Lovely flight shot, Jenaya. The Anhinga is a good flier. You caught him nicely. By the mottled neck, this is a relative youngster, as it has yet to come into adult plumage. Typically, the adult male has a black neck.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on March 21, 2013 at 10:03 PM

Jenaya,
Do you like shooting in shorts better than snow boots? Dumb question, they are both great as are your post. This is an outstanding Anhinga capture, picture perfect.
Well done,

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 22, 2013 at 12:11 AM

Awesome flight photo Jenaya. The pose is wonderful and have to appreciate the nesting material as well. Don't see many of these here in Alberta!

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Danny on March 22, 2013 at 3:12 AM

Only seen these on the net, we don't have them and they are gorgeous IMO. Fantastic shot and work, wonderful light, brilliant details and yep, top shot.

Your dad sounds like a great guy, say hello for me will ya.. Neat to have that support.

All the best and it sounds like you had not only fun, but something you will remember for life, how neat is that

Danny.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 165 Posts, 1345 Comments

Comment posted by wade pettitt on March 22, 2013 at 5:56 PM

Well done Jenaya, I love the colors of the water and grass as the background.

Registered on May 6, 2009, 184 Posts, 471 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on March 23, 2013 at 8:16 AM

Love the colors, great flight shot!

Ray

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

Comment posted by Bill Kellermeyer on March 25, 2013 at 6:37 AM

Great shot the detail is fantastic. The location is one of my favorites in the spring.

Registered on March 19, 2013, 52 Posts, 161 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Dunn on March 25, 2013 at 8:52 AM

That's beautiful Jenaya. Nice job.

Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments