Bar-tailed Godwit (race baueri) long-distance non-stop flight record holder

[Ian Wilson]

This mid-size wader follows a remarkable migration path that includes a non-stop flight from Alaska to Australia or New Zealand, a distance of about 11,500 km. Race baueri breeds in the Alaskan tundra during the boreal summer after which birds depart for Australia and New Zealand in August-September, making a non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean in about 8 days, flying day and night, beating their wings all the way as they cannot glide, consuming no food or water, and navigating with amazing precision to their destination. We found a flock of about 100 birds at the Hunter River estuary in early March, voraciously feeding on crabs to put on weight in preparation for northward migration.

Canon 5DIII + 600 mm f/4L II + 1.4x III extender, hand-held.
Manual, spot metering, 9-pt zone AF, f/7.1, 1/3200 sec, ISO 2500.
Processed with DPP4 and PS Elements with Neat Image NR.

Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome and appreciated.
Regards,
Ian

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful bird, nicely shown Ian. Your narrative is very informative, amazing what these birds can do. Thank you for sharing.

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent story and nice flight image to boot.

[Ian Wilson]

I was not happy with the original post and decided to rework the image. I hope this version looks better. Regards, Ian

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wow, your repost is exactly what I was going to suggest - a bit brighter and more prominent reflection in the eye. Nicely done.

[Richard Flack]

Super work Ian, remarkable bird and very well captured. TFS

[shane shacaluga]

Nice flight pose. RP is certainly an improvement and thanks for the story. Impressive that they fly so long. I think there is a falcon that does something similar

I am noticing a green cast on my monitor in the RP. Was that the colour of the water?

TFS

[Ian Wilson]

I am noticing a green cast on my monitor in the RP. Was that the colour of the water?

Hi Shane,
At first I could not see a green cast but when I look at my monitor at a steep angle I can see what appears to be a green cast. The conditions were grey and overcast and I used the WB preset in DPP for 'cloudy'. I would be interested to learn if other people can see a green cast - I may need to adjust the colour temperature. Thanks for your feedback, regards, Ian.

[gail bisson]

I like the repost but I agree on the green cast. I saw that immediately on my monitor.
Thanks for the narrative. Always enjoy reading your posts!
Gail

[Ian Wilson]

I like the repost but I agree on the green cast. I saw that immediately on my monitor.

Thanks Shane and Gail. This morning I had a closer look at the RGB numbers on the background and it was indeed showing a green cast of about +10 in 200 which I have now removed from the RAW adjustment file. I usually check these things carefully but in this case I overlooked it. Kind regards, Ian

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Ian great capture with a nice flight posture , good eye contact and perfect wing positions .Besides the green cast the RP does work better . For me the subject does sit a bit low in the frame , but guess this can be addressed if you wish .

TFS Andreas

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image and information Ian. That is an incredible distance that they fly.

[David Salem]

Thanks for that great piece of information. I'm always amazed at how far birds travel during their migration. Amazing. The repost looks much better and brighter and I like the details. Imagine if you had some sun for the last few shots.
Well done

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments and feedback. It would have been nice to have some sunshine for this series from the Hunter River estuary. I went back the next day with perfect light but the birds were not cooperating - such is life! Regards, Ian