The Nest

[Richard Unsworth]

Here is a frame I took back in early October in which you can see a juvenile European Stork which is fully fledged and ready to leave for Morocco.

The nest/homes can be immense as shown here; in the underside other birds live happily like a condo! you can see one in the frame.
Note the short bill of the Stork. Its not so easy to get onto the same level as these structures, but here I was able to sneak up a hill close by

Canon 7D 100-400, Processed with topaz and cc, using CC B&W filter
sorry exif n/a as the raw is on another drive

Do you like the shot?

[Dennis Bishop]

The arrangement of all the elements, including the out-of-focus trees and the utility lines, is great for keeping the viewer's eye in the image. The size of the nest is arresting enough to keep ones attention, too.

I've been eyeing a squirrel's nest high in an oak tree beside the house. If the roof weren't covered with snow, I might (or might not) climb up there and get a shot. Maybe, once the stork leaves, I could borrow the hill?

[Cheryl Slechta]

Richard, I like the image and especially the enormity of the nest which is contrasted by the bird. I think I would evict the telephone wires.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I like the shot and your conversion. I am undecided about the wires as this is just part of where they make their huge nests.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Richard, I wasn't thinking in the context of the nest being on the telephone poles so maybe they should be left in. I think the confusing part of it to me was that you can't see the wires on the other side of the nest but on closer examination I do see the lower one so I think I'm good with it the way it is. Maybe you could make that lower wire on the left just a tad darker?

[Richard Unsworth]

Aha thanks everyone. Those wires they actually go downhill to the left in the picture hence the viewer doesnt see the lower cable :-)
The nests are actually initiated by humans along the roadside here. A wheel-like structure was placed on top of the phone polls and over the years; the nest are repaired by the birds every year, the huge nests are built up. When the storks return from Morocco about this time of year, there can be fierce competition for one.

[Nancy Bell]

Great natural history shot. B&W is good since for me this is about that huge nest and single young bird, and that shows very well.
Interesting that the birds are encouraged to build on power poles. Here in the US this is very discouraged as it causes a hazard to both the critters and the interruption of power. Utility companies assist in providing poles nearby with platforms. This has been very successful for ospreys in northern Colorado.

[Richard Unsworth]

Hi Nancy, actually these are phone polls not power, dont have mains power here, generators out here in this area of the Alentejo for some of us.