Burchell's Sandgrouse

Another image from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The sandgrouse are a fascinating family of birds. They commute long daily distances between their breeding grounds and surface water, as they need to drink every day. The males soak their breast feathers in the water before they fly back to their nests where the thirsty chicks are waiting (sometimes more than 60km away). They are quite difficult to photograph in flight as they fly very fast and usually in flocks.

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2008:06:13 10:31:36
Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
Focal length: 500mm

I don't know what the experts will say, but I think it is a 10/10! Bg, light, exp, pose, details, composition, everything great to me! Congratulations!

Hi chris,
Love the different species and shots you are showing of them. This one is no exception! Love the light, pose, head angle, gorgeous BG and colours of the bird. I am not completely sure about the comp though, what was his/her flight direction? I would probably place it a little more in the lower left corner. To bad that the far wing is a little OOF and a little shaded, although the shade doesn't bother me too much. Would love to have this in my files!

Lovely background and behaviour captured here Chris. I also thought of placing the bird more towards the bottom left corner, but I think you are experienced enough to know what comp works best for your style. Beautiful image!

excellent shot, sweet light, comp, and detail, the bg rocks.

Just awesome. TH lighting pose and sharpness are fantastic!

Oh my goodness...that is just amazing!:eek:

Great to see another new species, thanks for sharing and the explanation. Quite amazing what they endure. Great light, pose, BG and details!

Really nice Image. I saw Namaqua Sandgrouse down at Sossusvlei and they were very difficult to photograph so this is a very fine effort.

Thanks for the comments guys:)

Super stuff Chris!!!

Superbly captured - super sharp and yes very difficult to capture, but you have done extremely well here!

Chris,
I like this image. Love the colours. Is it full frame? Would love to see more of the species.

Spectacular as expected; great light and sharp. All things being equal I would have preferred either a better light angle or the bird flying right at you so that the far wing were not partially in shadow.

This is insane Chris - how do you nail these speeding bullets?? I have spent frustrating times with them in Limpopo Province where they seem only to move as it is getting dark and there is no light to work with.

Thanks again guys. Tony, its easier to get images of the Burchell's and Namaqua Sandgrouse. The species that you were seeing in Limpopo is the Double-banded Sandgrouse, much more difficult to get in flight as they do not congregate around waterholes as the first two mentioned species.

Again it looks you have any focusing issue with the MkIII :eek::D
Amazing indeed.

Szimi