American Avocet on the Attack

[James Salywoda]

American Avocet
Southern California

Avocets are graceful and peaceful birds for the most part but when protecting chicks they can be mean and aggressive.
Ducks really are nothing to worry about but this young Mallard was upsetting this particular Avocet and was caught by surprise.
In a perfect world I would of wished the far wing was in the clear.;)

Nikon D300s AFS 600 F4
1/2000 F6.3 ISO 500

Thanks For Looking

Jim

[Nancy A Elwood]

James wonderful action!!! Nice and sharp and the exposure looks spot on. The strengths of this image James certainly over comes the only one thing being that far wing. Big congats!!

[James Salywoda]

Next shot duck leaving the scene:D

[Stu Bowie]

Hi James, superb action captured in both sequences, nearly drowned duck. Your OP shows the aggression of the avocet, and the following image depicts more of the action. All in all, a great capture.

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent behavior captured very well James, sharp and very nice. well done
The Avocets defend their chicks at any cost!

Best

[Bob Kothenbeutel]

Great action/interaction images Jim - right place, right time with perfect exposure and focus.
Bob

[Arthur Morris]

Now what was I saying about your ability to make great images of flight and action??? I like them both but prefer the 2nd for drama.

[Bill Jobes]

Exceptional action sequence, James ! I'm inclined to agree with Artie on favoring the departure image. I like it more, mainly because we see more of the second bird.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great timing, sharpness and eye contact. It would have been great to see more of the head in the first one and I might remove the specular highlights on the Avocet's bill.

[Krijn Trimbos]

Spectacular James! Love the action captured in both shots. Cool splash of water and nice colours. It seems like you have toned down the highlights in the first post. Too my eye they look a little weird because of it. If I am wrong discard that last remark, please.....:) Anyway congrats on a great shot!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

James, One heck of a shot. The light is hitting the bird perfectly and its angle to the camera is just right. Greta freeze too. Thx for sharing.

[denise ippolito]

James, Really great action captured and fantastic details. Well done!

[Chris van Rooyen]

Great light, sharpness and action James, well done! Pity the duck's eye is not visible, but that is not a major criticism.

[Gal Shon]

Fantastic images! well done.
The first one tells a story, the second one makes the impact...

[Fabs Forns]

Great action and good timing on your part. I may remove the spec highlights off the bill on the first one. I also like the second one better.
Please remember we only allow one image per post, unless it is a repost of the original.
Thanks so much for sharing!

[thijs broekkamp]

Awesome action moments! Great that they are so sharp, super!

[Harshad Barve]

Inspirational work James ,
TFS

[Kiran Poonacha]

I loved both the pics Bhai.. killer action here..

[James Salywoda]

Now what was I saying about your ability to make great images of flight and action???

Thanks Artie.:D And thanks to everyone for commenting.