Hamerkop fishing

Apologies for a longish absence, first work pressure and then 3 weeks in the bush:). May 2010 be all everyone wishes it to be.

Captured this hamerkop (Scopus umbretta, "hammer head") at the hide in Mapungubwe NP, Western Section. This is a fairly new NP on the northern border of SA, and includes the area where RSA, Zimbabwe and Botswana meet. The park consists of two sections with some commercial farms and private conservation areas in-between. This hide is located close to the Limpopo river in the western section of the park, and one can easily sit in the hide the whole day, either photographing or just enjoying the action when the light is too harsh. Late pm light was magical. I have been trying to get a decent-looking hamerkop image since I started getting serious about photography. They are a uniform, drab dark brown but the low western sun transformed the colour to a golden brown. He was around every day, and was a pretty good fisherman, too. I have tried to capture his fishing action but was never fast enough:o. (That explains working at wide open aperture & at ISO 1000 which is on the high side for 1DMIIN).
Very little pp done except crop & sharpen, still not at proper screen, working on laptop. The brown spot on the beak tip is mud and the bright spot behing the beak tip probably needs removing. Beak can probably do with linear burn, too. C&C welcome as always.

EXIF:
Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Date/Time: 2009:12:22 18:20:39
Shutter speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: 4.5
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous
ISO: 1000
Lens: EF500mm f/4.5L USM
Focal length: 500mm

Betsie, I dont recollect seeing this species before. Very interesting looking bird. Thx for sharing. Liked the exposure, composition and the sharpness.

Wishing for a little head turn towards you. Noise reduction on background is definitely needed.

Excellent lighting and good detail. I do not like the multiple circles in the water

Nice Hamerkop image, Betsie. Agree that a head turn toward you would have improved it. Light is lovely. OOF spots ion the water would be worth tioning down. I would mask the sharpening to the bird as it is making the texture of the earth a bit "crunchy". Mapungubwe is stunning and I agree, one could easily spend all day in the hide.:D

Getting a good shot of these is quite difficult, but the light direction has certainly brought out more detail in the feathers. Now all you need is one with the crown upright and a frog in it's mouth!

Hey Betsie, believe it or not, this is one guy I dont have in my files, so Im jealous. I like the low angle, and you have captured good feather detail. I agree with Tony on sharpening just the subject, unless the BG deserves to be shown up sharp. Sounds like you had a great time, and look forward to seeing more.

Thanks all for looking & commenting. Ran some NR on BG as posted- agree need to not have sharpened BG.