Carmine Bee-Eater (and Fork-tailed Drongo)

[Morkel Erasmus]

I was on a short trip to Kruger recently with Mark Dumbleton.

This was a very interesting sighting. There was a lot of commotion with bee-eaters, drongos and eagles flying around to and fro, the smaller birds chasing bugs and the eagles interested in something on the ground.

I quite liked this shot with the drongo still sitting on the branch and the bee-eater taking off.

All comments welcome.

Techs:
Nikon D300s with Nikkor 200-400mm f4 VR @ 400mm
f4.0 @ 1/2000 SS @ ISO-800
Exp +0.3

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice timing and action. Light isn't the best. Nice job getting two species in one frame, but I wish for a better HA on the Drongo.

[Katie Rupp]

Love the action and the story; agree with Aidan as to HA and on my monitor, the Drongo is somewhat lost in the dark bg. Must have been fun to watch.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Neat to have different species in the frame. It's amazing that there is still motion blur at this shutter speed. I would lighten the BG a bit and also wish the head angle of the drongo were better.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the feedback Axel, Katie & Aidan...I too wish the drongo had given me an eye or two :)

[Stu Bowie]

Great timing for the take off Mork, lovely streamlined diving posture. On my laptop, I feel the drongo stands out fairly well from the BG.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the comment Stu!