Long-tailed Skua

[Austin Thomas]

This was taken in northern Norway, well inside the Arctic circle. This was the first time that I had seen this species and I was pleased to be able to see the impressive tail but then on second glance I noticed its webbed feet. I hadn’t really thought about Skuas feet before, but with the conditions underfoot and the time spent at sea, webbed feet seem like a good choice for this bird.

More bird images from Norway and Finland can be found HERE (http://www.austin-thomas.co.uk/blog/?p=1031)

Canon 1DMK4, 500mm +1.4x, ISO800, f5.6, 1/320

C&C welcome.

Cheers

Austin

[Pieter de Waal]

Hi Austin, nice image of an interesting looking bird. My first of this species. I like the soft light and colours on the bird and BG with good feather detail. TFS.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great pose with a perfect subtle head turn. I like the darkish mood - goes well with the rainy conditions. Love the rain drops on the head and black primaries. I wish the whitish OOF area in front of the face was greener, and i could see this cropped from above as a more pano comp (about 35 - 40% off the empty space up there). Just an option really. Still impressive as is. Full of details, and I appreciate the view of those webbed feet:S3:.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice composition and pose

[Shaun Boycott-Taylor]

Hi Austin,

Nice Comp and pose, the background is great. I like the slight head turn. The rain on the head adds to the feel of the image i.e. cold and wet:eek:

Good detail in the feathers and tack sharp.
Read Rich Steels blog of your trip, sounded like you got a few species on it.

Shaun:5